The control group included 40 healthy adult volunteers (F 24, M16, age mean = 29.7 years), usually relatives of the patients. This group was randomly chosen by a sealed envelope method from 143 dental patients with similar diagnosis. The group of dental patients who undergone unilateral lower second or third-molar surgery included 40 adults, 22 women and 18 men, ranging in age from 18 to 71 years (mean = 31.9 years). The study was approved by the Medical Center Ethics Committee in regard to Helsinky Protocol. The patients were studied across a 4-month period. We tried to show that surface EMG evaluation of dysphagia following dental surgery is clinically useful, can provide valuable data for diagnosis and monitoring of dysphagia/odynophagia and simple to perform at dental departments. In contrast, the sEMG technique is suitable for routine clinical diagnostic use. The needle electrode EMG technique provides important information to physicians, but, being invasive, in case of face and neck locations it has its limitations and can be used more for scientific purposes. Numerous studies were performed in this field yet, clinicians still indicate the need for a simple noninvasive test for assessment of postsurgical dysphagia/odynophagia complaints. While dysphagia can be with or without pain, odynophagia it its turn can produce secondary dysphagia as patients trying to reduce pain change their normal swallowing patterns. Dysphagia, or difficulty with swallowing, is defined as any defect in the intake or transport of endogenous secretions and nutriments necessary for the maintenance of life. In case of dental surgery, odynophagia and dysphagia are usually related. The single swallow and continuous drinking tests are important not only in evaluation of dysphagia, but also in evaluation of odynophagia (for example, water drinking test after tonsillectomy) and in differential diagnosis in cases of dysphagia of unknown origin. The connection between dentistry and dysphagia becomes more prominent in the elderly. It can appear following dental extraction, bimaxillary osteotomy, odontogenic infection, and other dental problems. Dysphagia, however, is a common symptom in dentistry as well. The same tendency is true also for research activities with EMG evaluation of deglutition. The data can be used for evaluation of complaints and symptoms, as well as for comparison purposes in pre- and postoperative stages and in EMG monitoring during treatment of post-surgical oral cavity discomfort and dysphagia.įor decades the investigation of dysphagia has been concentrated on evaluation of single and separate swallows of normal subjects and neurological or otolaryngological patients. masseter, normal range of activity of submental-submandibular muscle group, and the "dry swalow" aftereffect.
This type of dysphagia has clear EMG signs: increased duration of single swallow, longer drinking time, low range of electric activity of m. The surface EMG studies prove that dysphagia following dental extraction and molar surgery has oral origin, does not affect pharingeal segment and submental-submandibular muscle group. Surface EMG of swallowing is a simple and reliable noninvasive method for evaluation of odynophagia/dysphagia complaints following dental extraction with low level of discomfort of the examination. The electric activity of submental-submandimular and infrahyoid muscle groups was the same in both groups. masseter was significantly lower in the dental patients' group in comparison with control group. The mean of electric activity (in μV) of m. There was no statistically significant difference between male and female adults' duration and amplitude of muscle activity during continuous drinking in both groups (p = 0.05). The duration of swallows and drinking in all tests showed increase in dental patients' group, in which this tendency is statistically significant. The above mentioned variables (mean + standard deviation) were measured for the group of dental patients (n = 40) and control group of healthy adults (n = 40). masseter, infrahyoid and submental-submandibular group. Parameters evaluated during swallowing and drinking include the timing, number of swallows per 100 cc of water, and range (amplitude) of EMG activity of m. Surface electromyographic (sEMG) studies were performed on 40 adult patients following extraction of lower third and second molars to research the approach and limitations of sEMG evaluation of their odynophagia complaints.