A Controlled Clinical, Electromyographic, and Kinesiographic Assessment of Craniomandibular Disorders in Women

Clinical, electromyographic, and kinesiographic methods were used to evaluate 35 female patients presenting with craniomandibular disorders. Twenty-six similarly aged, symptom-free women served as controls. Clinical assessments showed that the patients demonstrated a higher prevalence of bruxism than did the controls. Electromyographic results suggested that the rest activity of patients' elevators was significantly greater than that of the controls. Kinesiographic measurements showed that the patient group demonstrated greater vertical and anterior posterior movements from rest to centric occlusion than did the control group, and both the average and maximum opening velocities were smaller in patients than in controls.