Prevalence of bruxism and its related factors in Students at Birjand University of Medical Science in 2019

Bruxism, known as human oral parafunctional habit, can be performed consciously or unconsciously during the day and night. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of bruxism and its related factors in students at Birjand University of Medicals Sciences (Birjand, Iran) in 2019.

In this descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study, 659 students were selected. The instruments used were the Persian version of the Bruxism Questionnaire from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Emotional Stress Questionnaire Association and that of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Questionnaire (DASS-21). After collecting, all data were analyzed by the SPSS (p < 0.05).

In this study, 63% and 37% of students were female and male, respectively. The prevalence of bruxism in students was 31.1%. This value was significantly high in the students who had a history of bruxism in their family members (p < 0.05). Also, there was a significant relationship of age and stress with bruxism (p < 0.05), but relationship of gender, depression, and anxiety with bruxism was insignificant (p > 0.05).

The factors associated with bruxism were stress, family history, and age. Hence, it is suggested to consider stress as one of the important risk factors in the development of bruxism. By controlling this problem, bruxism and its subsequent results can be controlled.