The prevalence of awake bruxism and sleep bruxism in the Dutch adolescent population

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of awake bruxism and sleep bruxism in the Dutch adolescent population. Materials and Methods: As part of a large epidemiologic survey on oral health of the general Dutch adolescent population in 2017, a total of 920 subjects were asked about their bruxism behaviour during daytime and during sleep. The collected data were subjected to stratified analysis by two age groups (for 17 and 23 years, respectively), gender and socio-economic status. Results: A prevalence of 4.1% and 4.2% was found for awake bruxism and of 7.6% and 13.2% for sleep bruxism. Women reported awake bruxism more often than men in the 17-year-old age group (5.0% and 3.2%, respectively), while in the 23-year-old age group it was the other way around (4.0% and 4.4%, respectively). Regarding sleep bruxism, women reported higher percentages than men in both age groups (7.8% versus 7.5% and 14.9% versus 11.5%, respectively). Concerning socio-economic status (SES), awake bruxism was more often found in high SES groups (4.6% versus 3.7% and 4.9% versus 4.0% in both age groups, respectively) as well as for sleep bruxism in the 23-year-old group (16.5% versus 8.6%). In the 17-year-old group, sleep bruxism was more often reported in the low SES group (9.7% versus 5.3%). Conclusions: Sleep bruxism is a common condition in the Dutch adolescent population, while awake bruxism is rarer. Clinical relevance: Dental caregivers can use this information when negative healthcare outcomes are present amongst adolescents.