title: Bite force, electromyography, and mandible mobility during the 6-month period after surgical treatment for isolated fractures of the zygomatico-orbital complex.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to identify the behavior of masticatory muscles after fractures of the zygomatico-orbital complex (ZOC) and subsequent surgical treatment, by using analyses of bite force, electromyography (EMG), and mandible mobility during a 6-month period after surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five patients with fractured ZOCs treated surgically by using an intraoral approach and fixation exclusively in the region of the zygomaticomaxillary buttress were evaluated. The control group included 12 other patients. During postoperative follow-up, bite force, mandible mobility, and EMG analysis of the masticatory muscles were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was an increase in bite force with time, but a decline in EMG activity during the same period. In the mandible mobility analysis, only maximum mouth-opening values increased significantly after the surgical treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The masticatory musculature, according to bite force and EMG, returned to its normal condition by the second month after surgery, and maximum mouth opening was observed after the first month.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Periodontology, School of Dentistry of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Michel Campos
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Simone Cecilio Hallak
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Regalo
authors.forename: André Oliveira
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Pepato
authors.forename: Selma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Siéssere
authors.forename: Luiz Gustavo
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.forename: Cássio Edvard
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Sverzut
authors.forename: Alexandre Elias
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Trivellato
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001732:Bite Force; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000502:physiology; D008410:Masticatory Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D009068:Movement; D009917:Orbital Fractures / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D011184:Postoperative Period; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D020127:Recovery of Function; D055815:Young Adult; D015051:Zygomatic Fractures / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery