Frequency of daytime tooth clenching episodes in individuals affected by masticatory muscle pain and pain-free controls during standardized ability tasks

Abstract

Clinicians should recognize that the frequency and intensity of daytime clenching are noticeably increased in individuals with masticatory muscle pain in order to better tailor treatment.

Analysis of the reliability of the Italian version of the Oral Behaviours Checklist and the relationship between oral behaviours and trait anxiety in healthy individuals

“…The rationale for testing this scale is that it includes 6 items, referring to wake‐time oral behaviours implying pressure of teeth against soft tissues, objects or teeth . A correlation between oral activity episodes, observed through EMG, and those observed through the OBC‐It 6 was previously found, suggesting that it could be a sensitive tool to detect daytime tooth clenching episodes . Moreover, in the present study, the OBC‐It 6 showed “excellent” ICCs values that were similar to those obtained for the OBC‐It.…”

“…Those willing to participate in this research signed an informed consent and were asked to fill in the TMD pain screener . Individuals reporting pain in the jaws and/or temples in the last 30 days were excluded as concurrent oro‐facial TMD‐like pain has been reported to affect the frequency of oral parafunctional behaviours . From an initial pool of 364 subjects screened, 82 were excluded because of concurrent pain in the jaw or temple area.…”

“…In addition to the OBC‐It (total score), a reduced 6‐items version (OBC‐It 6), was analysed. It includes items 3 (“grind teeth together during waking hours”), 4 (“clench teeth together during waking hours”), 5 (“press, touch or hold teeth together other than while eating ‐that is, contact between upper and lower teeth‐)”, 10 (“bite, chew, or play with your tongue, cheeks, or lips”), 12 (“hold between the teeth or bite objects such as hair, pipe, pencils, pens, fingers, fingernails, etc.”) and 13 (“use chewing gum”) (Table ).…”

“…The contribution of wake‐time oral behaviours to oro‐facial pain due to temporomandibular disorders (TMD) has been acknowledged in several studies, which used both patient self‐reports and more objective assessments . Therefore, detecting patients’ oral behaviours could be of great importance for clinicians in the management and prevention of TMD.…”

Use of common stimulants and awake bruxism – a survey study

“…This observation can be supported by the results of experimental studies, which demonstrated that clenching can aggravate masseter muscle pain in patients with TMD [16]. Moreover, individuals with masticatory muscle pain were shown to have an increased frequency of daytime teeth clenching episodes [17].…”