2017 Volume 9 Issue 4 Pages 365-373
Purpose: The aim of this study was to verify that sleep bruxism for outpatients can be assessed by using an ultraminiature wearable electromyogram (EMG) device, FLA-500-SD (FLA).
Methods: The subjects were ten outpatients who were diagnosed as sleep bruxers on the basis of clinical findings. Masseteric EMG data recorded by using the FLA during nocturnal sleep at home were analyzed. Bursts with maximum amplitude larger than 20% of maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) and duration longer than 0.25 s were selected as sleep bruxism bursts (SB-Bs).
Results: All subjects could operate the FLA. There was no significant difference between subjective assessment of sleep state of the measured night by means of visual analog scale (VAS) and that of usual nights. Recorded EMG baselines were stable. Distinct bursts including phasic bursts, tonic bursts and bursts with a low amplitude but considerably long duration were observed. The mean (± SD) number of SB-B per hour was 14.3±11.2 /h and the mean (± SD) duration of a SB-B was 2.28±0.92 sec. Individual data of these items analyzed for each subject were able to be compared with known standard data from previous studies.
Conclusions: It was demonstrated that the FLA can be easily set and operated by outpatients, that stable and clear EMG data can be recorded at the patient’s home without restraint, and that the degree of sleep bruxism can be assessed by analyzing data obtained by using the device.
