Effect of occlusal interference on habitual activity of human masseter

It has been suggested that occlusal interference may increase habitual activity in the jaw muscles and may lead to temporomandibular disorders ( TMD). We tested these hypotheses by means of a double- blind randomized crossover experiment carried out on 11 young healthy females. Strips of gold foil were glued either on a selected occlusal contact area ( active interference) or on the vestibular surface of the same tooth ( dummy interference) and left for 8 days each. Electromyographic masseter activity was recorded in the natural environment by portable recorders under interference- free, dummy- interference, and active- interference conditions. The active occlusal interference caused a significant reduction in the number of activity periods per hour and in their mean amplitude. The EMG activity did not change significantly during the dummy- interference condition. None of the subjects developed signs and/ or symptoms of TMD throughout the whole study, and most of them adapted fairly well to the occlusal disturbance.