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BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to examine surface electromyographic (sEMG) activity of masticatory muscles before and after functional orthopaedic therapy with Sander appliance.Material and MethodsTen adolescents (5 girls, 5 boys) with an Angle Class II, division I malocclusion, 9-13 years old, were submitted to sEMG before and after functional orthopaedic therapy. To verify the neuromuscular equilibrium, the standardized EMG activities of right and left masseter and anterior temporal muscles were recorded during maximum voluntary clench, and analysed calculating: POC (index of the symmetric distribution of the muscular activity determined by the occlusion); TC (index of presence of mandibular torque) and Ac (index suggesting the position of occlusal barycentre). The total muscular activity was also calculated. Pre- and post- functional therapy data were compared with Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test.ResultsBefore treatment, all subjects had a good neuromuscular equilibrium, which was not altered by treatment.ConclusionssEMG evaluations allow to quantify the impact of occlusion on masticatory muscle activity and to control that the functional orthopaedic therapy maintain a good muscular coordination. Key words:Functional appliance, Sander appliance, electromyography, masticatory muscles.

BackgroundTo investigate the modifications induced by rapid maxillary expansion (RME) on the electromyographic (EMG) activities of the anterior temporal and superficial masseter muscles, in patients without pre-treatment EMG alterations.Material and MethodsTwenty-one patients with unilateral posterior cross-bite selected from the orthodontic department of the University of L’Aquila (Italy), were enrolled. There was no control group in this study since each subject acted as a control of her/himself. Two surface EMG recordings were taken: T0 (before RME) and at T1 (3 month after the end of expansion). To verify the neuromuscular equilibrium, the EMG activities of both right and left masseter and anterior temporal muscles were recorded during a test of maximum clench. EMG indexes were compared by paired Student’s t-test.ResultsIn both occasions, all indices showed a good symmetry between the right and left side masticatory muscles. No statistically significant differences were found between the two recordings.ConclusionsIn children without pre-treatment EMG alterations, no variations in standardized muscular activity after RME were found. The treatment did not alter the equilibrium of the masseter and temporal muscles. Key words:Rapid maxillary expansion, electromyography, masticatory muscles.

INTRODUCTION: Maxillary canine-first premolar transposition (Mx.C.P1) is an uncommon dental positional anomaly that may create many orthodontic problems from both esthetic and functional points of view. OBJECTIVE: In this report we show the orthodontic management of a case of Mx.C.P1 associated with bilateral maxillary lateral incisor agenesis and unilateral mandibular second premolar agenesis METHODS: The patient was treated with a multibracket appliance and the extraction of the lower premolar. RESULTS: treatment was completed without the need for any prosthetic replacement.

The electromyographic evaluations revealed that there was a neuromuscular imbalance determined by an occlusal instability in the patients candidates for orthognathic surgery, thus indicating that occlusion plays a more important role than any possible mechanical disadvantages due to altered craniofacial morphology.