ABSTRACT
Background
Sleep bruxism (BS) is defined as involuntary jaw movements characterized by grinding and clenching teeth.
Objective
To verify the association between chronotype, sleep quality, and self-reporting of BS in dental students.
Method
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 214 undergraduate dental students at a public university in northeast Brazil. The participants answered the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire for the identification of chronotype and another questionnaire regarding daily aspects to collect information about sleep quality, self-reported sleep bruxism, the use of sleeping pills, snoring, concentration during daily activities and energy upon waking.
Results
The prevalence of self-reported sleep bruxism was 11.0%. In the final model, the eveningness chronotype (OR = 23.00; 95% CI: 2.36-223.84, p = 0.007), habitual snoring (OR = 3.12; 95% CI: 1.31-7.39, p = 0.01) and low energy upon waking in the morning (OR = 2.37; 95% CI: 1.96-5.58, p = 0.040) were associated with self-reported sleep bruxism.
Conclusion
The evening chronotype, presence of snoring, and low energy when waking up in the morning influenced self-reporting of sleep bruxism among undergraduate dental students.
Keywords:
chronobiology; chronotype; biological rhythm; sleep; bruxism