Abstract
BACKGROUND: The evolution of concepts that have featured the last decade in the field of bruxism led to the necessity of providing clinicians and researchers with adequate tools for the assessment of bruxism, such as the Standardized Tool for the Assessment of Bruxism (STAB) and the BruxScreen. The former is a multidimensional evaluation tool for the evaluation of bruxism status, while the latter is an instrument that could potentially find its applicability in large-scale epidemiological research projects for screening purposes. However, both tools lack the evaluation of orofacial symptoms at awakening, which can be predictive of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) pain intensity and prognosis. The aim of this paper is to discuss the development of a novel tool, the OroFacial Awakening Symptoms Questionnaire (OFASQ). This questionnaire could be integrated into the STAB to investigate the presence of orofacial symptoms upon awakening and enhance knowledge of the relationship between sleep-time bruxism activities and potential clinical consequences. The OFASQ consists of a preliminary screening question about the presence or absence of a series of orofacial symptoms upon awakening and five items that evaluate the amount of pain and impairment they cause. METHODS: For pilot testing, the OFASQ was administered to a diverse group of 85 subjects, including dental practitioners of various specialties, postgraduate and undergraduate dentistry students and patients. RESULTS: Following the face validity and pilot testing phase, it emerged that OFASQ could represent a valid tool for quantifying the intensity and severity of orofacial symptoms upon awakening in everyday clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: The OFASQ tool is considered ready for more in-depth clinical testing. The authors do not exclude the possibility of minor editing to the tool following further, more in-depth tests.