Masseter muscle thickness measured by ultrasonography and its relation to facial morphology

The aims of this study were to evaluate ultrasonography as a method for measuring masseter muscle thickness, to quantitate the normal range of the ultrasonically measured thickness of the masseter in adults, and to test whether the variation in the thickness of the muscle is related to the variation in the facial morphology in different individuals. In 40 healthy, fully-dentate young adults, 20 men and 20 women, the masseter thickness was measured bilaterally by a real-time ultrasound imaging technique. The measurements were performed under both relaxed conditions and with maximal clenching. Standardized facial photos of the subjects were taken so that their facial morphology could be determined. The measurement error of the thickness of the masseter was found to be small, not exceeding 0.49 mm. Under relaxed conditions, the mean thickness (+/- S.D.) of the muscle in men was 9.7 (+/- 1.5) mm, and under contracted conditions, 15.1 (+/- 1.9) mm. In women, the respective measurements were 8.7 (+/- 1.6) mm and 13.0 (+/- 1.8) mm. The thickness of the masseter muscle was found to be related to the facial morphology, mainly in women, but not in men; the women with a thin masseter had a proportionally longer face. Ultrasonography was found to be a reliable and accurate method for study of the thickness of the masseter muscle. There was a large variation in the thickness of the muscle between individuals, and the thickness of the masseter was related to facial morphology in women.