Electromyographic Analysis of the Masticatory Muscles in Cleft Lip and Palate Children With Temporomandibular Disorders

A DAB-Bluetooth Instrument (Zebris Medical GmbH, Germany) was used to take electromyographical (EMG) recordings of the temporal and masseter muscles both in the mandibular rest position and during maximum voluntary contraction (MVC).Disposable, self-adhesive Ag/AgCl bipolar surface electrodes were placed at a fixed inter-electrode distance of 20 mm on the anterior temporal muscles and on the superficial masseter muscles parallel to the muscular fibres. The EMG signals were amplified, digitized and digitally filtered. The EMG results were analysed using the Student's t test and Mann-Whitney U test to determine differences between the mean values of the independent variables.

A DAB-Bluetooth Instrument (Zebris Medical GmbH, Germany) was used to take electromyographical (EMG) recordings of the temporal and masseter muscles both in the mandibular rest position and during maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). Disposable, self-adhesive Ag/AgCl bipolar surface electrodes were placed at a fixed inter-electrode distance of 20 mm on the anterior temporal muscles and on the superficial masseter muscles parallel to the muscular fibres. A mathematical analysis of the ROC curve was used to assess the diagnostic efficiency of electromyography in identifying patients withTMD. The results were described by the area under the curve (AUC), the P value and the ROC coordinate curves, i.e. sensitivity and specificity.