This study compared the jaw-muscle electromyographic (EMG) activity during sleep in patients with craniofacial pain (n = 63) or no painful conditions (n = 52) and between patients with tension-type headache (TTH: n = 30) and healthy control individuals (n = 30). All participants used a portable single-channel EMG device (Medotech A/S) for four nights. There was no significant difference in EMG activity between craniofacial pain (24.5 ± 17.9 events/hr) and no painful conditions (19.7 ± 14.5), or between TTH (20.8 ± 15.0) and healthy control individuals (15.2 ± 11.6, p >.050). There were positive correlations between EMG activity and number of painful muscles (r = 0.188; p = 0.044), characteristic pain intensity (r = 0.187; p = 0.046), McGill Pain Questionnaire (r = 0.251; p = 0.008), and depression scores (r = 0.291; p = 0.002). Patients with painful conditions had significantly higher night-to-night variability compared with pain-free individuals (p < 0.050). This short-term observational study suggests that there are no major differences between patients with different craniofacial pain conditions and pain-free individuals in terms of jaw-muscle EMG activity recorded with a single-channel EMG device during sleep. However, some associations may exist between the level of EMG activity and various parameters of craniofacial pain. Longitudinal studies are warranted to further explore the relationship between sleep bruxism and craniofacial pain.

Sleep bruxism (SB) is a repetitive jaw muscle activity characterized by grinding or clenching of the teeth (Lobbezoo et al., 2013) and it is a possible risk factor for various ailments and disorders in the stomatognathic system, such as dislodgement of dental restorations, tooth fracture, tooth wear, periodontal disease and temporomandibular disorder. Studies have been conducted on the relationships of SB genesis with increase in sympathetic nerve activity, sleep state and genetic factors (

This study indicated that the diagnostic validity of self-reported measures of SB was low to modest using an ambulatory EMG device assessment as a reference. Using only self-reported measures for the assessment of SB may not have a high validity, which should be taken into consideration in the clinical evaluation of patients.

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