Abstract

The method of differential lissajous electromyography (DL-EMG) was applied to investigate the relationship among the integrated EMG activity, timing, and coordination of the bilateral superficial anterior temporal and masseter muscle activities in normal occlusion and Class III malocclusion subjects. In both Class III malocclusion and normal occlusion subjects, the working side muscles showed a higher mean cumulative voltage (MCV) and mean maximum peak voltage (MMPV) compared with the balancing side. In addition, a higher MCV and MMPV of the working side masseter was observed in the normal occlusion group compared with that seen in the Class III group during both right and left side chewing (p<0.01). Discriminant analysis applied to examine the distribution, the size and the shape of DL-EMG pattern further indicated a statistical difference between subject groups (p<0.01). Finally, there was a significantly higher percentage of clockwise DL-EMG pattern-generation in the normal group compared with that seen for Class III subjects (p<0.01). These data indicate that, compared with normal subjects, patients with a Class III malocclusion have a demonstrably abnormal masticatory muscle balance which is well characterized by the DL-EMG method.