Prevalence of oral behaviours in general dental patients attending a university clinic in Italy

Abstract

Background Oral behaviors represent a diverse array of habits beyond the physiological behaviors of the stomatognathic system. Objective To describe the prevalence of different oral behaviors, as reported with the Oral Behavior Checklist (OBC‐21), in a convenience sample of patients attending an Italian university clinic for routine dental cares. Methods In this study, charts of adult patients presenting to the dental department of a regional hospital in Trieste, Italy, from January 2018 and January 2019 were reviewed. Patients with complete files were retrieved, and those with orofacial pain complaints were excluded. OBC‐21 scores and grades (score of 0 corresponding to no risk, 1‐24 to low risk, and higher than 24 to high risk) were analyzed and stratified according to age and sex. Results Data from a total of 1424 patients were reported. The overall mean OBC score was 13.3 ± 9.9, with 6.7% no‐risk grade, 79.6% low‐risk grade, and 13.7% high‐risk grade. In general, mean OBC scores decreased with increasing age. Females showed a higher frequency of high‐risk grade than males. Most frequent prevalent habits included yawning (73.1%), eating between meals (66.9%) and chewing food on one side only (63.3%). Other behaviors were also highly prevalent, including pressing, touching, or holding teeth together other than while eating (52.7%) and awake clenching (47.5%). Conclusion A low‐risk grade of oral behaviors has been found to be frequent in our sample. Future studies are warranted to confirm these findings in larger, representative general populations and to assess if any of these habits are linked to negative effects on the stomatognathic system.

Salivary Biomarkers and Temporomandibular Disorders: A Systematic Review conducted according to PRISMA guidelines and the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions

“…Similar results were also supported by multiple articles 44‐46 . By contrast, other studies have demonstrated a significant positive correlation between salivary cortisol levels in both the case and the CG 47‐51 . These discrepancies in the literature suggest that individual variations in stress thresholds may contribute to the diverse findings across studies 52‐54 …”

“…4 4-46 By contrast, other studies have demonstrated a significant positive correlation between salivary cortisol levels in both the case and the CG. [47][48][49][50][51] These discrepancies in the literature suggest that individual variations in stress thresholds may contribute to the diverse findings across studies. [52][53][54] Regarding IL-1, Ce et al 32 reported significantly higher levels in patients with TMD alone compared to the CG, irrespective of fibromyalgia assessment.…”

Research routes on awake bruxism metrics: Implications of the updated bruxism definition and evaluation strategies

“…71 Amongst those, the OBC has been selected for the STAB 24 and a modified version of the BRUX scale has been included in the BruxScreen. 25 The OBC is widely used to investigate the prevalence of various oral behaviours, 72,73 and it contains four questions referring to behaviours that may be part of the AB spectrum (i.e., teeth grinding, teeth clenching, teeth contact, mandible bracing). 71 The questions are formulated in the form of "How often do you do each of the following activities, based on the last month?".…”

Prevalence of temporomandibular disorders in clear aligner patients using orthodontic intermaxillary elastics assessed with diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorders (DC/TMD) axis II evaluation: A cross‐sectional study

“…1,16 According to a study conducted by Sambataro et al, elastics have an impact not only on the teeth but also on the TMJ position. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Moreover, a study conducted by Tanaka et al demonstrated that the elastic modulus of the TMJ disk exhibits an increase with age. 26 The mechanical loading that the TMJ structures experience depends significantly on the disk's stiffness.…”

“…The available evidence indicates that the utilisation of Class II and Class III elastics may have an impact on the TMJ; however, the degree of influence may differ 1,16 . According to a study conducted by Sambataro et al., elastics have an impact not only on the teeth but also on the TMJ position 17–25 . Moreover, a study conducted by Tanaka et al.…”