Evidence of an influence of asymmetrical occlusal interferences on the activity of the sternocleidomastoid muscle

To investigate the hypothesis of a functional coupling between occlusion and neck muscles, the immediate effect of asymmetrical occlusal interferences on the pattern of contraction of the sternocleidomastoid muscles (SCM) during maximum voluntary clench (MVC) was analysed in 30 healthy subjects. All subjects had a complete and sound permanent dentition, without temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and craniocervical disorders. A 5-s surface electromyogram (EMG) examination of the SCM was performed during (1) MVC in intercuspal position and (2) MVC with a single 200-μm occlusal interference alternatively positioned on teeth 16, 13, 23, 26. All subjects had a symmetrical EMG activity during MVC in intercuspal position. For each subject, SCM potentials were standardized as percentage of the mean potentials recorded during the MVC on natural dentition and the EMG waves of left- and right-side muscles were compared by computing the relevant percentage overlapping coefficient (POC). For each subject, the best and the worst POCs computed during the four MVC tests with occlusal interferences were found and the percentage difference between them was calculated. In the four MVC tests with occlusal interferences, SCM symmetry was very different from that recorded during MVC on natural dentition. The difference between the best and worst POCs computed within each subject was very variable, ranging from 1·52 to 41·57%. In conclusion, when young healthy subjects with a normal occlusion clench on an asymmetrical occlusal interference, they have an altered left-right side pattern of contraction of their SCM. In almost all subjects, a previously symmetrical pattern became asymmetrical.