Influence of behavioral therapies on awake bruxism, biopsychosocial factors and orofacial pain: randomized controlled clinical trial

Abstract

Awake bruxism (AB) is characterized by tooth clenching, being associated with daily stress and anxiety, which justifies its increase around the globe. In addition, it can be considered a risk factor for temporomandibular disorders, highlighting the need to consolidate effective therapies in the management of this parafunction. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the influence of two AB therapies on electromyographic activity of masseter muscles, biopsychosocial factors and orofacial pain. Ninety volunteers with AB will be recruited at Piracicaba Dental School - UNICAMP, and randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 30) that will receive the following therapies: Biofeedback (group 1), Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) (group 2), and third group that will not receive any therapy (Control). AB will be diagnosed by the Oral Behaviors Checklist and confirmed by the EMA. Before receiving the therapies, all variables will be accessed as a baseline measurement. Masseter muscles electromyography will be achieved by using a portable device. Levels of anxiety will be evaluated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) will be used to measure Stress degree. Quality of Life will be evaluated by the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-bref). Finally, orofacial pain will be measured by the visual analogue scale and pressure pain threshold. Then, 30, 60 and 90 days after AB therapies, all variables will be reevaluated. The collected results will be submitted to exploratory analysis and appropriate statistical tests will be applied, considering a significance level of 5%.