Polysomnographic Study of the Prevalence of Sleep Bruxism

Abstract: The goal of the current study was to estimate the prevalence of sleep bruxism (SB) in the general popula-tion using a representative sample of 1,042 individuals who answered ques-tionnaires and underwent polysom-nography (PSG) examinations. After PSG, the individuals were classified into 3 groups: absence of SB, low-fre-quency SB, and high-frequency SB. The results indicated that the preva-lence of SB, indicated by questionnaires and confirmed by PSG, was 5.5%. With PSG used exclusively as the crite-rion for diagnosis, the prevalence was 7.4 % regardless of SB self-reported com-plaints. With questionnaires alone, the prevalence was 12.5%. Of the 5.5 % (n = 56) with confirmed SB, 26 were clas-sified as low-frequency SB, and 30 as high-frequency. The episodes of SB were more frequent in stage 2 sleep, and the phasic bruxism events were more fre-quent than tonic or mixed events in all sleep stages in individuals with SB. A positive association was observed between SB and insomnia, higher degree of schooling, and a normal/ overweight body mass index (BMI). These findings demonstrate the preva-lence of SB in a population sampled by PSG, the gold standard methodology in the investigation of sleep disorders, combined with validated questionnaire