J Korean Acad Prosthodont.
2000 Feb;38(1):50-58.
A Clinical Study On The Occurrence Of Food Impaction
Abstract
- The purpose of this study was to investigate the causes of food impaction and to explore solutions as well. For this study, 39 patients with food impaction wee selected. 77 contact areas in these patients were investigated mobility, tightness of contact area, gingival index, plaque index, attachment loss, alveolar bone loss, proximal caries, marginal ridge distance and occlusal relationships. The results were as follows ; 1. Teeth without distal support were found to be the most frequent site of food impaction (41.6%). Food impaction was found to be more frequent in the upper teeth (66.2%) than the lower teeth (33.8%). 2. Food impaction was found in tight contact cases (71.4%). Alveolar bone loss was not found in the early stage of food impaction (83.1%) 3. The distance between the marginal ridges of food impaction sites (mean=0.48mm) was shorter than that of the control group. (mean=0.77mm) (p<0.001) 4. In 18.2% of t he cases, proximal carries were found at the food impaction site. 5. Food impaction affected patient's occlusion with the following frequencies ; cusp to marginal ridge relationship (72.7%), cusp to fossa relationship (3.9%) and stepped relationship (23.4%).