Evaluation of surface electromyographic (SEMG) activity among individuals before and after orthodontic treatment - An...

Orthodontic treatment initially reduces masticatory muscle activity due to discomfort, but gradual occlusal improvement enhances muscle strength and balance, highlighting the need to assess muscle function before and after treatment. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the changes in surface electromyographic (sEMG) activity of masticatory muscles such as temporalis, masseter and digastric muscle before and after orthodontic treatment across different malocclusion. Patients exhibiting malocclusions with class I, II and III were assessed using BioEMG equipment with BioPak analysis software (Digital Dental, NSW and Australia). Temporalis, masseter, and digastric muscles were recorded bilaterally for electromyographic activity at rest, during clenching, and during swallowing. Muscle activity was assessed during orthodontic therapy of pre- and post- treatment values. Shapiro-Wilk test was used to assess the normality of the data and to compare between pre- and post-treatment paired t test was used. During EMG activity across all three muscles, there were no statistically significant difference observed in class I and Class III subjects during pre and post treatment. In contrast, Class II subjects' particularly female subjects showed significant post-treatment increases in EMG activity of the three muscles indicating neuromuscular adaptation to orthodontic treatment. There was a notable increase seen in muscle activity of temporalis, masseter and digastric in Angles Class II females from pre- and post (6 months) of orthodontic treatment.