Evaluation of Brain Activity during Splint Wearing

Objectives: This study examined the possibility of using the Emotion Spectrum Analysis Method (ESAM) to evaluate the feelings arising from wearing a dental prosthetic device. Methods: The emotions of seven healthy dentulous individuals were identified while they were wearing and not wearing a dental prosthetic device. The extracted electroencephalogram (EEG) data were analyzed in time series by using four ESAM indexes of emotion: stress, depression, joy, and relaxation. To evaluate sensitivity while the subjects were wearing and not wearing the prosthetic, a comparison was made between a subjective evaluation measured by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the objective evaluation by ESAM. The statistical analysis was performed using Wilcoxon's test (á = 0.05) and Pearson's product moment correlation coefficient (á = 0.05). Results: All seven subjects experienced a significant decrease in the sensation of biting while wearing the prosthetic, as evaluated using the VAS. All seven subjects also experienced a significant decrease in joy while wearing the prosthetic, as evaluated using the ESAM. However, no significant change was observed in stress, sorrow, and relaxation while subjects were wearing and not wearing the prosthetic. There was a significant correlation between VAS values and joy values measured by ESAM. Conclusion: The results suggest that the feelings associated with wearing a dental prosthetic can be evaluated using the ESAM joy values and that comfortable feelings and the ESAM joy values are similar in EEG. Periodontal changes caused by wearing a prosthetic can be assumed and evaluated using the ESAM joy values.