The effect of unilateral partial edentulism to muscle thickness

OBJECTIVE: Teeth and muscles play a very important role for occlusal equilibrium and function. When tooth loss begins, it may also affect the function of the muscle tissues.

METHODS: The thickness of the masseter and anterior temporalis muscles were measured bilaterally in 30 healthy fully dentate adults and in 30 unilateral edentulous patients by using ultrasonographic imaging. All scans were carried out by the same radiologist to eliminate the inter-observer difference, using a real time scanner (Toshiba SSA- 270 A Japan). A 7.5 MHz linear transducer was used. The transducer was held against the cheek with light pressure. The effect of age, sex, duration of the partial edentulism, unilateral chewing habits of the individuals to the muscle thickness were also evaluated. In all subjects, facial proportion index was also determined.

RESULTS: No study has been found in the literature concerning the masticatory muscle thickness in unilateral partial edentulous patients. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to compare and establish the differences of the muscle thicknesses between dentate and edentulous sides in unilateral partial edentulous patients with ultrasonography and to test whether the variation in the thickness of the muscle is related to the variation in the facial morphology using the facial proportional indices in the study groups. In the present study, ultrasonography revealed a large variation in the thicknesses of the masseter and temporalis muscles in experimental and control groups, during both relaxed and contracted conditions. The thicknesses of the muscles in females during both relaxed and contracted conditions were less than those in males in both control and experimental groups. In experimental group, a high negative correlation was found between the thickness of the masseter muscle and Facial proportion Index (FPI) in females, however, the statistical analysis showed no significant difference in males. Also, a high negative correlation was found in control group, especially in females. There was no statistically significant relationship between thicknesses of the muscles and age of the subjects in both groups. There was no statistically significant relationship between unilateral chewing habits and muscle thickness. In this study, the duration of partial edentulism did not affect the thickness of the muscles.

CONCLUSION: Further research is required to study muscular atrophy for comparison with total edentulism.