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Masseter muscle activity during the whole day in children and young adults
K Miyamoto1, Y Ishizuka, H M Ueda
1Department of Orthodontics, Hiroshima University School of Dentistry, Hiroshima, Japan.
Insights
Children exhibit greater masseter muscle activity throughout the day compared to young adults. This chewing muscle function is more pronounced in children, particularly during sleep and daytime non-meal periods.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Craniofacial Biology
- Musculoskeletal Research
Background:
- Craniofacial skeleton development is influenced by masticatory muscle function.
- Understanding masseter muscle activity patterns is crucial for growth studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify daily masseter muscle activity in children.
- To compare masseter muscle activity between children and young adults.
Main Methods:
- Electromyography was used to record masseter muscle activity over a full day.
- Subjects included 15 children (7.8–13.0 years) and 30 young adults (20.3–34.7 years).
- Participants had normal occlusion and no temporomandibular disorders.
Main Results:
- Higher amplitude masseter muscle bursts occurred during meals in both groups.
- Lower amplitude bursts were distributed throughout the day.
- Children showed a greater number and total duration of masseter muscle activity bursts daily compared to young adults.
- During daytime and sleep, children had significantly more bursts and longer durations.
Conclusions:
- Children demonstrate higher overall daily masseter muscle activity than young adults.
- Masticatory muscle function patterns differ significantly between developmental stages.
Abstract:
Changes in size and shape of the craniofacial skeleton during growth may be related to the masticatory muscle function in daily life. The purpose of this study was to measure the masseter muscle activity during the whole day in children and to investigate the differences between children and young adults. Fifteen children (7.8-13.0 years of age) and 30 young adults (20.3-34.7 years of age), who had acceptable occlusions without any remarkable skeletal discrepancy or temporomandibular disorder, were used as the subjects. In both children and young adults, most high-amplitude bursts of masseter muscle appeared mainly during mealtime, whereas a substantially larger number of low-amplitude ones were widely distributed throughout the whole day. The number and total duration of bursts of masseter muscle activity during the whole day was greater in children than in young adults, although significant differences were not found between the sexes. During daytime and sleep, both the number and total duration of bursts were greater in children. During mealtime, no significant differences in the number of bursts were found between children and young adults, however, the duration of bursts tended to be longer in children. It is concluded that the masseter muscle activity during the whole day is greater in children than in young adults.