The purpose of this study was to: (a) compare the tonic electromyographic (EMG) activity of the temporalis and masseter muscles between two tongue positions, (b) compare the vertical dimension (VD) resulting from each tongue position and (c) determine the influence of the VD on the tonic EMG activity for each tongue position. Thirty-three healthy dental students with natural dentition and bilateral molar support, between the ages of 18 and 22 years, with no prior history of oro-facial injury, or current or past pain in the jaw, mouth, or tongue participated in the study. Tonic masseteric and temporalis EMG activities were recorded using surface electrodes. Subjects were instructed to passively place the tongue either on the anterior hard palate or in the floor of the mouth. At each tongue position, the resulting EMG and VD were recorded. No significant difference in EMG activity was found for either the masseter (P-value = 0·5376) or temporalis muscle (P-value = 0·7410), between the two tongue positions. However, there was a significant difference in the VD resulting from the two different tongue positions, being greater with the tongue placed in the floor of the mouth. There was no statistically significant correlation between VD and EMG activity for both tongue positions. In spite of the lack of difference in the effect of both tongue positions on the masseteric and temporalis EMG activity, an increment of the VD was registered for the floor of mouth-tongue position. However, VD was not correlated with EMG activity for both tongue positions.
The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the tonic electromyographic (EMG) activity of the temporalis and masseter muscles following placement of the tongue either on the palate or in the floor of the mouth during swallowing and maximal voluntary clenching (MVC). Thirty healthy dental students with natural dentition and bilateral molar support, between the ages of 18 and 22, with no prior history of oro-facial injury, or current or past pain in the jaw, mouth or tongue participated in the study. Tonic masseter and temporalis EMG activities were recorded using surface electrodes. Subjects were instructed to passively place the tongue either on the anterior hard palate or in the floor of the mouth during swallowing and MVC. At each tongue position, the resulting EMG was recorded. During swallowing, no significant difference in EMG activity was found either for the masseter (P-value = 0.1592) or the temporalis (P-value = 0.0546) muscles, regardless of the tongue position. During MVC, there was a statistically significant difference for both the masseter (P-value = 0.0016) and the temporalis (P-value = 0.0277) muscles with lower levels recorded with the tongue in the floor of the mouth. This study found that in normal, pain-free subjects, placing the tongue in the floor of the mouth significantly reduces masticatory muscle activity during MVC. Thus, it may be considered as a possible therapeutic option to decrease masticatory muscle activity; however, further research is needed in patients with oro-facial pain.
RESUMEN:El objetivo del presente estudio fue describir los cambios clínicos e imagenológicos de las terapias no invasivas aplicadas a pacientes con alteraciones óseas degenerativas de las articulaciones temporomandibulares (ATM). Metodología: Se evaluaron 25 pacientes con alteraciones óseas degenerativas de las ATM, sin tratamiento previo de trastornos temporomandibulares (TTM) al momento del diagnóstico. Se realizó tratamiento no invasivo y un año después fueron evaluados según criterios clínicos e imagenológicos DC/TMD y Ahmad. Los resultados fueron presentados por medio de estadística descriptiva, odds ratio con sus respectivos intervalos de confianza, comparaciones de medianas y correlaciones. Se estudiaron 50 ATM, 72 % mujeres (32,2 años promedio). Se observó mejora significativa en los parámetros: dolor (p=0,0001), sinovitis (p=0,001) e incremento de la esclerosis del trabeculado óseo (p=0,051) a un año post-tratamiento. Después de un año del establecimiento de terapias no invasivas en pacientes con alteraciones óseas degenerativas de las ATM, se observaron cambios positivos tanto clínicos como imagenológicos, reduciéndose significativamente la sintomatología dolorosa, limitándose la progresión del daño óseo degenerativo, y observándose recuperación de los casos de sinovitis.PALABRAS CLAVE: ATM, alteración ósea degenerativa, terapia no invasiva.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.