Chewing side preference and muscle quality in complete denture-wearing subjects

Abstract

Complete denture wearers commonly report that they are more able to chew on one side of their mouth than on the other. Where a marked chewing side preference exists, the muscles on the preferred side may be more efficient, but this assumption has remained unproven as bite force is an insensitive and unreliable index of muscle quality. de Vries (1968) has shown that the quality of a muscle can be measured by relating the electromyogram (EMG) and isometric force properties. Using this definition we have shown that in complete denture wearers, the masseter muscle in the preferred chewing side is superior in quality to that of the non-preferred chewing side. Whether this difference in muscle quality is the cause or the result of the chewing side preference is unknown