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Wearables for personalized monitoring of masticatory muscle activity — opportunities, challenges, and the future

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Abstract

Wearable devices are worn on or remain in close proximity of the human body. The use of wearable devices specific to the orofacial region is steadily increasing. Orofacial applications of wearable devices include supplementing diagnosis, tracking treatment progress, monitoring patient compliance, and understanding oral parafunctional behaviours. In this short communication, the role of wearable devices in advancing personalized dental medicine are highlighted with a specific focus on masticatory muscle activity monitoring in naturalistic settings. Additionally, challenges, opportunities, as well as future research areas for successful use of wearable devices for precise, personalized care of muscle disorders are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

We thank orthodontist Grace Nichols, a University of Otago alumnus, for her research work on oral and oesophageal pH and help with the graphs in Fig. 3.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthodontics, Hamdan Bin Mohammed College of Dental Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Sabarinath Prasad

  2. Discipline of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Mauro Farella

  3. Discipline of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, Department of Surgical Science, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Mauro Farella

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  1. Sabarinath Prasad
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Prasad, S., Farella, M. Wearables for personalized monitoring of masticatory muscle activity — opportunities, challenges, and the future. Clin Oral Invest 27, 4861–4867 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-023-05127-7

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