Stimulation from Natural Chewing with the Hiperboloide

The Hiperboloide is a compensatory instrument of modern nutrition, predominantly “soft and tender”, which restores the attributes of dry, hard and fibrous foods, in order to achieve harmonious craniofacial growth through neural excitation.

“For a stimulus to be biological, it must provoke a response in the organism: this is called excitability.” (Professor: Wilma Simões)

One of the most important functions of the stomatognathic system is mastication, which is a highly coordinated muscular operation and involves rapid mandibular movements that require modulation and adaptation to the load. This is why there are 5 sizes of Hiperboloide with a hardness of 35 Shore A. The nervous system, peripheral receptors and masticatory muscles are continuously involved during mastication, and the central nervous system receives signals from receptors through the brain stem, thalamus and cerebral cortex. When we talk about the stomatognathic system, we know that the receptors are deeply concentrated, highly specialized and connected to the Central Nervous System (CNS), also by electrical synapses, which transmit inputs at high speed and this means that any change within the stomatognathic system is immediately perceived by the CNS with extreme precision. Therefore, the receptors of the stomatognathic system are located in the oral mucosa, tongue, teeth, periodontium, TMJ and muscles and will be immediately registered by the brain, which adjusts and compensates for the functional movement via control of the masticatory muscles.

Several studies have shown that chewing helps maintain cognitive functions in the brain, including the hippocampus. In other words, when we chew immediately before learning a cognitive task, we increase activity in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.

Chewing is a simple, non-pharmacological way to prevent senile dementia, which is often associated with cognitive dysfunction, and the hippocampus is the region of the CNS affected by masticatory hypofunction. (Masticatory Deficiency as a risk factor for cognitive, Inst.J.Med.Sci.2014, vol 11).

We can prevent and complement unbalanced craniofacial growth using the unilateral chewing exercise alternated with Hiperboloide.

*(Figure 1)

Evaluation for the use of the Hiperboloide

To find out which Hiperboloide is ideal for your patient, you must follow the recommendations:

1- The Hiperboloide should be placed in the midline of the teeth

2- Then the patient makes the lateral movement to both sides while squeezing the Hiperboloide

3- Then, he makes protrusion and retrusion movements while squeezing the Hiperboloide.

During this process, we must observe whether the patient has dental contact. If there is no contact, this will be the ideal size of Hiperboloide. If there is, it is recommended to use a larger Hiperboloide. Furthermore, if there is a limitation in the range of movement, a smaller Hiperboloide will be recommended.

Expert Tip:

It is recommended to have all sizes of Hiperboloide to provide excellent service.

Exercise HB09, which is “Natural Mastication with the Hiperboloide”, is indicated for:

• Functional Orthopedics of the Jaws;
• Compensatory exercises for oral motricity;
• Orthodontics;
• Prosthetic rehabilitation;
• Conservative rehabilitation;
• Among other applications.

Click on the link below and check out the Exercise: HB09 – Natural Chewing with the Hiperboloide:

*Figura 1 : Peripheral receptors of the stomatognathic system. Source:Adapted from Purves et al.(2000). Reproduced with permission from Sinauer Associates.Understanding Masticatory function in unilateral crossbites, pag 68 fig 3.5