Does sleep bruxism affect masticatory muscles volume and occlusal force distribution in young subjects? A preliminary study

Abstract

Objective To compare the differences in masticatory muscle volume and occlusal force distribution between patients with sleep bruxism (SB) and healthy individuals. Methods The study was performed on 14 SB patients and 12 controls aged between 20 and 27 years. Magnetic resonance images from a previous clinical trial were used for volumetric measurements of masticatory muscles. Distribution of bite forces was recorded using T-Scan® II. T-tests were used for data comparison. Results The mean age of the subjects was 23 ± 1.85 years. The mean muscle volumes of patients with SB and healthy subjects were 177.3 and 185.9 cm³, respectively. The mean occlusal force areas were 72.4 pixels and 89.8 pixels for patients with SB and healthy subjects, respectively. There was no significant difference in measurements between groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion There was no significant difference in the distribution of masticatory muscles and occlusal force between young patients with SB and healthy subjects.