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.