Relations Among TMD, Bruxism, Lifestyle, and Psychological Stress

The purpose of this experiment was to clarify relations among temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), bruxism, lifestyle, and psychological stress. Participants were selected from female patients (n=29, 23-78 yrs, mean age 50.8 yrs).Eighteen females were diagnosed as having TMD (TMD group, mean age 47.6 yrs), and 11 females were diagnosed as not having TMD (Non-TMD group, mean age 55.9 yrs). All participants underwent self-administered questionnaires which consisted of the Health Practice Index (HPI), the Tokai University Type A Pattern Scale, the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (Zung-SDS). They were instructed to sleep at home with the disposable sleep bruxism sensor (BiteStrip®, S.L.P.) attached on their left masseter. The number of bruxers was significantly higher in the TMD group than in the Non-TMD group (P<.05), which suggested an association between bruxism and TMD. Based on BiteStrip score, participants were divided into bruxers and non-bruxers. In Non-TMD groups there was significant difference only in lifestyle, especially sleep and mental stress between bruxers and non-bruxers (P<.05). Bruxers showed higher anxiety and insomnia score than non-bruxers. Bruxism in the Non-TMD group was associated with lifestyle, especially with sleeping hours and mental stress. This suggests that an improvement in lifestyle might reduce bruxism events in the Non-TMD group.