Relationship between masticatory muscle activity and vertical craniofacial morphology.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between masticatory muscle activity during the day and vertical craniofacial morphology. The sample comprised 30 subjects (20 males and 10 females, age range 15 to 28 years, mean 24 +/- 3.2 years) who had normal anteroposterior skeletal relationships and complete or nearly complete dentition without serious malocclusion or temporomandibular dysfunction. Using a portable electromyographic recording system, activities of the masseter, temporal, and digastric muscles were recorded for 3 hours during the day, excluding time spent eating, sleeping and exercising. A lateral cephalogram was taken of each subject with the teeth in occlusion. Activities of the masseter, temporal, and digastric muscles consisted mainly of low-amplitude bursts. The duration of digastric muscle activity was greater than that of either the masseter or temporal muscles. Masseter and digastric muscle activity was positively correlated. The activities of the masseter, temporal, and digastric muscles during the day consist of low-amplitude bursts and may be related to vertical craniofacial morphology.