Awareness/relaxation training and transcutaneous electrical neural stimulation in the treatment of bruxism

Twenty-three bruxists with a short history of dysfunction were randomly assigned to three treatment groups, MART (Muscular Awareness Relaxation Training), TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Neural Stimulation), and a control group. The experimental time was 4 months, with a total of 20 treatment sessions for each experimental group. The MART group, decreased their left and right pterygoid-masseter and left and right frontalis electromyographic (EMG) activity significantly after treatment as compared with the TENS and the control group. Further, the MART group decreased their number of breaths per minute, increased their maximum opening of the mouth after treatment to a significantly higher degree as compared with the TENS and control groups.