Awake bruxism behaviors frequency in a group of healthy young adults with different psychological scores.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the frequency of awake bruxism (AB) behaviors in a group of undergraduate dentistry students and correlate it with the status of anxiety and depression.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The frequency of five oral behaviors (i.e., relaxed jaw muscle, teeth contact, mandible bracing, teeth clenching, teeth grinding) was evaluated using a smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) approach. The anxiety and depression status was investigated with the four-item patient health questionnaire for anxiety and depression (PHQ-4). ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc test was used to assess the difference in frequency of AB behaviors among the four PHQ-4 groups.

RESULTS

Among the four groups, there was a statistically significant difference in the frequency of relaxed jaw muscle, teeth contact, mandible bracing, and teeth clenching, but not for teeth grinding.

CONCLUSION

Based on this cross-sectional study's findings, psyche seems to have a determinant impact on AB behaviors, which is significantly higher in individuals with anxiety and depression traits.