The effect of bite force on the duration and latency of the menton tap silent period

Summary The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of bite force changes on the duration and latency of the menton tap silent period and particularly whether a decrease in bite force can increase the duration of the silent period to the extent which may be found in dysfunctional patients. The menton tap silent period was recorded from both anterior temporal and masseter muscles while the subject was clenching at different force levels. A bilaterally stable force transducer was used to monitor the clenching force. The results indicated no statistically significant differences in the mean durations and latencies of silent periods at different clenching forces. They suggest that duration and latency are not related to the degree of clenching force.