Mastication is the motor task with the highest muscle activations of the jaw region, potentially leading to high temporomandibular joint (TMJ) loading. Since increased loading of the TMJ is associated with temporomandibular disorders (TMD), TMJ mechanics during chewing has potential clinical relevance in TMD treatment. TMD self-management guidelines suggest eating soft and small pieces of food to reduce TMJ pain. Since TMJ loading cannot be measured in vivo, due to patient safety restrictions, computer modeling is an important tool for investigations of the potential connection between TMJ loading and TMD. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of food bolus variables on mechanical TMJ loading to help inform better self-management guidelines for TMD. A combined rigid-body-finite-element model of the jaw region was used to investigate the effect of bolus size, stiffness, and position. Mandibular motion and TMJ disc von Mises stress were reported. Computed mandibular motion generally agrees well with previous literature. Disc stress was higher during the closing phase of the chewing cycle and for the non-working side disc. Smaller and softer food boluses overall lead to less TMJ loading. The results reinforce current guidelines regarding bolus modifications and provide new potential guidelines for bolus positioning that could be verified through a future clinical trial. The paper presents a first in silico investigation of dynamic chewing with detailed TMJ stress for different bolus properties. The results help to strengthen the confidence in TMD self-management recommendations, potentially reducing pain levels of patients.

咀嚼是下颌区域肌肉活动最高的运动任务，可能导致颞下颌关节 (TMJ) 负荷过高。由于 TMJ 负荷增加与颞下颌关节紊乱 (TMD) 相关，咀嚼期间的 TMJ 力学在 TMD 治疗中具有潜在的临床相关性。TMD 自我管理指南建议吃柔软的小块食物以减轻 TMJ 疼痛。由于无法在体内测量 TMJ 负荷，由于患者安全限制，计算机建模是研究 TMJ 负荷和 TMD 之间潜在联系的重要工具。本研究的目的是调查食物推注变量对机械 TMJ 负荷的影响，以帮助为 TMD 提供更好的自我管理指南。下颌区域的刚体有限元组合模型用于研究丸剂大小、刚度和位置的影响。报告了下颌运动和 TMJ 椎间盘 von Mises 应力。计算的下颌运动通常与以前的文献一致。在咀嚼周期的结束阶段和非工作侧椎间盘应力较高。整体上更小、更软的食物丸导致较少的 TMJ 负荷。结果加强了关于推注修改的当前指南，并为推注定位提供了新的潜在指南，可以通过未来的临床试验进行验证。该论文首先提出动态咀嚼的计算机模拟研究，具有针对不同丸剂特性的详细 TMJ 应力。结果有助于增强对 TMD 自我管理建议的信心，有可能降低患者的疼痛水平。