Occlusal adjustment and myoelectric activity of the jaw elevator muscles in patients with nocturnal bruxism and craniomandibular disorders

Abstract

The effects of occlusal adjustments on the myoelectric activity of the anterior temporal and masseter muscles, with the mandible at rest and during maximal clenching in the intercuspal position (ICP), were studied in 24 nocturnal bruxism patients. Before the occlusal adjustment, the patients were treated with a flat occlusal splint for chronic craniomandibular disorders. The results revealed that within the short term the occlusal adjustment, in terms of increased number of occlusal contacts and teeth in contact in ICP, did not change the postural activity, whereas, on average, the level of activation of the jaw elevators, in terms of normalized electromyogram, increased during maximal clenching in ICP. The increase of activity was more pronounced in the masseter muscle than in the anterior temporal muscle.