Visualizing Molar Occlusion and Function: Application of Laser and CAD-CAM Technology

这个项目是开发技术，以可视化的灵长类磨牙咬合。咀嚼过程中颌骨的运动是一种非常复杂的现象，人类学家对此非常感兴趣，因为这种运动与牙齿形状和饮食有关。由于灵长类化石记录主要由牙齿残骸组成，因此了解牙齿形状、功能和饮食之间的关系是一个核心问题。在这里，一个三维扫描设备将被用来数字化来自两个饮食偏好不同的物种的咬合磨牙的表面形态：食果兼食虫的新大陆猴子Saimiri和食果动物Ateles。然后，研究人员将尝试使用数字化模型来模拟遮挡的阶段。然后将对博物馆的一系列牙齿进行检查，以研究咬合过程中磨损对牙齿适合性的影响。这些信息将有助于破译现存和灭绝的灵长类动物的饮食适应。

This project is to develop techniques to visualize the occlusion of primate molar teeth. The movement of the jaws in mastication is a highly complex phenomenon and one of considerable interest to anthropologists as the movements are related to tooth shape and to diet. Since the primate fossil record is largely composed of dental remains, understanding the relationship of tooth shape, function and diet is a central one. Here a three-dimensional scanning device will be used to digitize the surface morphology of occluding molars from two species which differ in dietary preferences: Saimiri, a frugivorous-insectivorous New World Monkey and Ateles, a frugivore. The researchers will then attempt to use the digitized models to simulate phases in occlusion. A museum series of teeth will then be examined to study the effects of wear on the fit of teeth during occlusion. This information will assist in deciphering the dietary adaptations of living and extinct primates.