Ecological momentary assessment of awake bruxism behaviors

Background: Awake bruxism (AB) is a condition that possibly mirrors some psychological disorders and can lead to several dental and medical consequences. While the frequency of AB could be described based on the so-called ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methodology, which enables real-time reporting of the condition under study (eg, tooth contact, tooth grinding, jaw clenching), the transfer process of this approach from the research to the clinical setting has not yet been performed. Methods: An EMA for AB based on a smartphone application (app) has the potential to be an interesting strategy for introducing the advantages of EMA for bruxism evaluation. This article describes a new app that is dedicated to EMA/AB evaluation, and which may be useful as a cognitive-behavioral strategy for AB management. Results: The app has been used preliminarily to show about a 28% frequency of AB behaviors in a sample of healthy young adults over a 7-day recording period. Conclusions: The use of smartphone technology may introduce several benefits in the field of EMA-based bruxism research and clinical practice, helping to set values of normal frequency. Such data could be compared to populations with risk-associated factors, with possible clinical consequences. Keywords: awake bruxism, ecological momentary assessment, smartphone, bruxism