Sleep Bruxism Self-Report and Awake Bruxism: An Ecological Momentary Assessment

Abstract

Objectives: The present study seeks to investigate the association between sleep bruxism (SB) and awake bruxism (AB) in healthy individuals, assessing whether self-reported SB is associated with higher AB frequency through self-report and Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA). Methods: A cohort of 150 healthy participants (57 males, 93 females; mean age 25.53 ± 3.4 years), recruited at the University of Siena, completed the A1.1 and A1.2 domains of the Standardized Tool for the Assessment of Bruxism (STAB). Among them, 100 underwent a seven-day EMA via a smartphone application to track AB behaviors. Mann–Whitney U tests compared self-reported and EMA-reported AB frequencies between SB and non-SB individuals, while Spearman correlation tested SB-AB associations (p < 0.05). Results: SB was reported by 34% of participants. These individuals showed significantly higher self-reported AB behaviors, including teeth clenching (p < 0.001), mandible bracing (p = 0.039), and teeth grinding (p = 0.014). EMA confirmed increased AB frequencies, particularly teeth clenching (p = 0.005), mandible bracing (p = 0.02), and teeth contact (p = 0.047) in SB individuals. Spearman analysis revealed a mild-to-moderate correlation between SB and AB (p < 0.01). Conclusions: SB is significantly associated with AB behaviors, suggesting that individuals reporting SB are more likely to engage in AB activities.