Customized Appliance Device for Force Detection in Bruxism Individuals: An Observational Study

Area of Science:

• Dental sleep medicine
• Biomedical engineering
• Neurology

Background:

• Sleep bruxism (SB) is an underdiagnosed condition characterized by involuntary jaw muscle activity during sleep.
• Current detection methods like polysomnography are resource-intensive, and patient-reported outcomes can be subjective.
• There is a need for reliable, non-invasive devices for objective SB detection and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a custom-designed, force-based device for detecting contact-related sleep bruxism in adults.
• To assess the efficacy of an integrated biofeedback system for reducing SB events.

Main Methods:

• Four volunteers (three with bruxism, one control) participated in sleep tests.
• Concurrent electromyographic (EMG) recording and data from the custom device were collected.
• Sleep bruxism activity was compared with and without the application of biofeedback stimuli.

Main Results:

• The force-based device accurately detected sleep bruxism events in individuals with bruxism, distinguishing them from the control.
• A strong correlation was observed between EMG signals and the custom device's readings for bruxism-related events.
• Nights utilizing the biofeedback treatment showed a significant reduction in bruxism activity.

Conclusions:

• The developed force-based device offers reliable detection of appliance-contacting sleep bruxism events, comparable to EMG.
• Integrated biofeedback stimuli effectively reduce the severity and frequency of sleep bruxism episodes.
• This technology presents a promising tool for objective diagnosis and management of sleep bruxism.