Abstract:

The impaired balance in articulation and occlusion can be due to anatomical or iatrogenic causes, nevertheless, it always violates the coordination of morphological structures of the masticatory apparatus and their function. The authors of the present paper aim to explore all available literature in an attempt to analyze mastication and speech functions in patients with unbalanced occlusion and articulation, the result of dentofacial deformities and/or missing teeth and inadequate prosthetic treatment.
Materials and Methods: The selection of analysed database was carried out gradually by searching out electronic databases: Pub-Med (http://www.pubmed.com), Science-Direct (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), Scopus (http://www.scopus.com/) and manual search in four languages: Bulgarian, Russian, English and German.

Results: The study of 30 sources has revealed that occlusion-articulation imbalance is indicative for the development of normal chewing cycles, correct speech and diction. An impaired masticatory function has negative impact on proper nutrient intake for the patient.

Conclusion: Patients with malocclusion and/or varying degrees of edentulism or having undergone prosthetic treatment inconsistent with the three medico-biological criteria, exhibit different functional disorders compared to patients who do not need that treatment.