Comparison of the Activity of Left and Right Masseter Muscles of Normal Individuals and Patients with Mandibular Dysfunction During Experimental Stress

Abstract

Patients with mandibular dysfunction were subjected to experimental stress. Electromyograms of left and right masseter muscles showed that during the stress period, similar patterns of activity were induced in both muscles, despite the presence of tenderness in only one of the muscles. It is suggested that this and earlier findings support the hypothesis that stress-induced muscle activity is a contributory factor in the etiology of mandibular dysfunction.

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