Adaptation of the lateral pterygoid and superficial masseter muscles to mandibular protrusion in the rat

It has been suggested that protrusion of the mandible results in an alteration of the functional activity of the lateral pterygoid muscle. If this is true, however, it is unclear whether this altered muscle function is a transient phenomenon with no long-term effect or whether it results in structural and functional adaptation of the involved musculature. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not physiologic and metabolic changes take place within two jaw-protruder muscles—the lateral pterygoid muscle and the superficial masseter muscle—in rats after treatment with a protrusive appliance. Thirty 45-day-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided equally into experimental and control groups. The experimental animals wore bonded protrusive-type appliances for 2 weeks. Histochemical analysis of muscle fiber types and in vivo whole-muscle contractile-property analysis were used to evaluate structural and functional muscle adaptations. Mandibular length was slightly but significantly greater in the experimental group, indicating that the protrusive appliance had the expected positive effect on mandibular growth. Histochemically, the lateral pterygoid muscle in the experimental group exhibited a significantly greater area occupied by type I fibers at the expense of type IIb fibers. The superficial masseter muscle exhibited a significantly greater percentage of areas for both type IIa and type IIb fibers in the experimental group. Contraction time (TPT) increased in both muscles; that is, the muscles became slower. The histochemical and contractile-properties data indicate that the protrusive appliance caused the lateral pterygoid muscle to become more active with respect to tonic (postural) activity, whereas the superficial masseter muscle became more active phasically.