Correlation between findings of the oral myofunctional clinical assessment, pressure and electromyographic activity of the tongue during swallowing in individuals with different orofacial myofunctional disorders

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose To correlate the findings regarding the myofunctional orofacial examination, tongue pressure and surface electromyography (sEMG) of deglutition in individuals with different orofacial myofunctional disorders. Methods 44 patients (20 males and 24 females, aged between 17 and 63 years old) with different orofacial myofunctional changes were clinically assessed using the Expanded Protocol of Orofacial Myofunctional Evaluation with Scores (OMES-E). In addition, the range of mandibular movements and facial anthropometry were measured, along with the assessment of the tongue pressure (tip and dorsum) and of the electrical activity of the suprahyoid muscles during deglutition, using surface electromyography (sEMG). Results The statistical analysis found weak correlations between tongue dorsum pressure values, suggesting that the greater the measurement of the lower third of the face, the lower the pressure of the tongue dorsum; the greater the measurement of the overlaps (vertical and horizontal), the higher the pressure of the tongue dorsum; the higher the score from the orofacial evaluation and orofacial functions assessment, the higher the pressure of the tongue dorsum; and the higher the pressure of the tongue dorsum, the higher the pressure of the tongue tip. Conclusion The present study results indicate that the orofacial myofunctional changes found in different groups of patients are more related to the maxillomandibular discrepancies than to the pathologies investigated herein.