High-field MR imaging was used to study structural and physiologic alterations involving the muscles of mastication in 46 patients. Muscular abnormalities were often detected incidentally in conjunction with lesions of the CNS, cranial nerves, facial bones, and/or temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Specific pathologic alterations observed included anomalies of musculoskeletal development, muscle hy...

The objective of this study was to analyze human eating behaviors in chewing and slurping buckwheat noodles. We used electromyography to measure the activity of the jaw-closing, jaw-opening, and lip-closing muscles while healthy adults ate one mouthful of buckwheat noodles. Slurping the noodles required a longer mastication period but smaller muscle activity per movement than chewing the same s...

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between mastication and head posture using foods with different degrees of hardness. A total of 12 healthy, dentulous volunteers participated in the study. Each participant was required to chew two types of gummy candy with two levels of hardness while sitting upright. Measurements were conducted using an optoelectric jaw-trac...

PURPOSE To evaluate the effect of oral rehabilitation with immediately loaded fixed implant-supported mandibular prostheses on chewing and swallowing in elderly individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifteen completely edentulous patients aged more than 60 years (10 women and five men), wearing removable dentures in both arches, had a mandibular denture replaced by an implant-supported prosthesis...

Masticatory muscle physiology has been evaluated mostly from electromyographic recordings. However, electromyography coupled with jaw-tracking devices has provided much more information of the correlation between jaw movements and muscle activity. Knowledge of how the mandible moves during mastication has greatly influenced procedures in clinical dentistry. The aim of this overview is to give b...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of botulinum toxin type A (BTA) injection into the salivary gland and to evaluate the changes of drooling in varied postures in tetraplegic patients with brain injury. METHODS Eight tetraplegic patients with brain injury were enrolled. BTA was injected into each parotid and submandibular gland of both sides under ultrasonographic guidance. Drooling was meas...

Teeth clenching has been shown to improve remote muscle activity (by augmentation of the Hoffmann reflex), and joint fixation (by decreased reciprocal inhibition) in the entire body. Clenching could help maintain balance, improve systemic function, and enhance safety. Teeth clenching from a sports dentistry viewpoint was thought to be important and challenging. Therefore, it is quite important ...

It has been recognized that mandibular movements evoke head movements during jaw tapping. However there have been only a few studies that investigated the aspects of head movements during mastication. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the hypothesis that the head moves actively in mastication in order to achieve effective destruction of a food bolus. Head and mandibular movements d...