Effects of sleep bruxism on periodontal tactile sensation

Objective:The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of sleep bruxism on periodontal tactile sensation in the molar region.

Materials and methods:Twenty-eight dental school faculty members and students lacking objective or subjective abnormalities in stomatognathic function (age range: 21 to 30 years; average: 26.3 years) participated in this study after giving written informed consent. All subjects had a stable maximum intercuspal position and no crowns or prostheses covering the occlusal surfaces of the left first molar. Based on the clinical criteria suggested by Dube et al. (2004) these subjects were divided into 2 groups; 14 bruxers and 14 controls. Sleep bruxism status was confirmed by the measurement of nocturnal electromyography (EMG) activity from the masseter muscle using a portable surface EMG machine, which was performed in the subjects' home environment. Periodontal tactile sensation was assessed based on interocclusal tactile threshold (ITT), which refers to the minimal thickness that can be detected between the occlusal surfaces of the teeth. ITT was measured at the left first molar region using aluminum foils with 10 different thicknesses. The measurements were performed on 3 separate days and the 3 ITT data were averaged for each subject. The group difference in ITT between the bruxers and controls was tested using the Mann Whitney U-test (p<0.05).

Results:The mean ITT for the control group resulted to be 32.9 +/-5.3 µm, while that for the bruxers was 18.4 +/- 4.7µm. This difference was statistically significant (p<0.001).

Conclusions:The study results suggest that the presence of sleep bruxism affects periodontal tactile sensation and that patients with sleep bruxism have more sensitive periodontal tactile sensation than those without sleep bruxism.