Comparing the Electromyographic Features of the Masseter and Temporal Muscles in Patients with full Mouth Implant-supported FDPs and Natural Dentition

BACKGROUND: Due to increasing demands for a full mouth implant reconstructions and the fact that the most failures are associated with biomechanical complications, determining the effect of different occlusal patterns on these complications seems inevitable. The aim of this study is to compare affection of different occlusal designs in full mouth implant reconstructed patients on electromyographic activity of temporal and masseter muscles compared to natural dentition. METHODS: Thirty-two patients were included in this study, considering that 16 patients had natural dentition and the other 16 were full mouth implant reconstruction patients. In both groups, the participants were divided into two subgroups: 8 patients had canine guidance occlusal pattern and the other eight had a group function occlusal pattern. Muscle contractions were studied during both maximum intercuspation and lateral excursions to the point of intercanine contact using an electromyography device. RESULTS: The average percentages of masseter muscle contraction in lateral excursions relative to maximum intercuspation were as follows: 72.20% in full mouth implant reconstruction patients with group function occlusion 69.49% in natural dentition with group function occlusion 58.85% in full mouth implant reconstruction patients with canine guidance occlusion 30.91% in natural dentition with canine guidance occlusion. The average percentages of temporal muscle contraction in lateral excursions relative to maximum intercuspation were as follows: 70.87% in full mouth implant reconstruction patients with group function occlusion 78.57% in natural dentition with group function occlusion 51.99% in full mouth implant reconstruction patients with canine guidance occlusion 31.55% in natural dentition with canine guidance occlusion. CONCLUSION: A canine guidance occlusal pattern in both, natural dentition and full mouth implant-supported FDP, patients resulted in decreased muscle contraction. This decreasing is more significant in natural dentition and it is better to establish a canine guided occlusion in a full mouth reconstruction patient.