Evaluation of temporomandibular joint disorders, perceived stress and oral habits in patients with bruxism

Bruxism is a parafunctional habit consisting of repetitive jaw and muscle movements in which clenching and grinding can occur together or separately. Many factors play a role in its etiology. The aim of this study is to examine sociodemographic characteristics, temporomandibular disorders, parafunctional habits except bruxism, and emotional stress level in bruxism patients who applied to Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Prosthetic Dentistry. 100 volunteer bruxism patients and 100 healthy patients were included in the study. Personal information questionnaire to determine sociodemographic characteristics, Fonseca anamnestic questionnaire to measure temporomandibular discomfort level, Oral Habits Questionnaire to determine parafunctional habits and Perceived Stress Scale to measure stress level were asked to both groups. Kolmogorov Smirnov, t test and Mann Whitney U test were used for data analysis. As a result of the sociodemographic test, it was seen that the prevelance of bruxism was higher in women. In patients with bruxism, the level of temporomandibular disorder was found to be statistically significantly higher than the control group (p<0.001). It was observed that the incidence of masticatory muscle and TMJ pain, also headache in bruxism patients was higher than the control group. In bruxism patients the incidencce of oral habits was statistically higher (p<0.001) and the most common oral habits were chewing gum and eating unilaterally. It was determined that the perceived stress level was statistically significant in the patient group with bruxism (p<0.001). The mean score of perceived stress level in the study group was 65, and it was 10 in the healthy patient group. According to the results of the study, it can be said that bruxism has a multifactorial etiology and this parafunctional habit can be reduced with psychological support and an interdisciplinary treatment plan. Keywords, Perceived stres, bruxism, oral habit, parafunction, temporomandibular disorder