Functional evaluation of jaw and suprahyoid muscle activities during chewing

Abstract

Mastication is the first step in the process of digestion in most mammals. 1 During chewing, food is crushed by the actions of the teeth and masticatory muscles to reduce the size and mixed with saliva to moisten the food bolus. Although basic digestive motor actions such as chewing and swallowing are triggered and controlled by a central pattern generator in the brain stem, 2,3 bolus information in terms of its size, temperature, texture, or moisture gradually changes, and motor patterns can adapt to these characteristics. In this meaning, there are several factors determining the masticatory movement pattern.

Signal to noise ratio of masticatory muscle activity of functional and non‐functional oral tasks

“…[14][15][16] In addition, studies have shown differences in the EMG pattern between the masticatory muscles (mostly, anterior temporalis and masseter) for common oral behaviours such as chewing, clenching, and tooth grinding. 2,[17][18][19] There is a lack of knowledge on EMG patterns between the masticatory muscles for various other oral tasks such as bracing and thrusting of the mandible, coughing, lip biting etc. Thus, it would be interesting to know if there are any differences or similarities in the patterns of EMG activity between the masticatory muscles and different functional and non-functional (static and dynamic) oral tasks.…”

“…Further, there are very few studies that have measured the EMG activity of a wide range of non‐functional oral tasks during wakefulness 2,13 and for the functional tasks, most studies have only measured the MMA related to chewing tasks 14–16 . In addition, studies have shown differences in the EMG pattern between the masticatory muscles (mostly, anterior temporalis and masseter) for common oral behaviours such as chewing, clenching, and tooth grinding 2,17–19 . There is a lack of knowledge on EMG patterns between the masticatory muscles for various other oral tasks such as bracing and thrusting of the mandible, coughing, lip biting etc.…”