Analysis of the reliability of the Italian version of the Oral Behaviours Checklist and the relationship between oral behaviours and trait anxiety in healthy individuals

BACKGROUND: The Oral Behaviours Checklist (OBC) is a valid 21-item instrument quantifying the self-reported frequency of oral behaviours. An Italian version (OBC-It) has been released recently. Anxiety and oral behaviours are known to be associated in individuals with oro-facial pain due to temporomandibular disorders (TMD). However, information about this relationship in pain-free individuals is still limited. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to test the reliability of the OBC-It and its reduced version (OBC-It 6), focusing on tooth clenching-related wake-time oral behaviours, and the effect of patient instructions on reliability. A second aim was to test the association between trait anxiety and oral behaviours in pain-free individuals. METHODS: did not. CONCLUSIONS: The OBC-It is a reliable tool but further subjects' instructions might be needed. Trait anxiety has a limited effect on oral behaviours in TMD-free subjects.