Bruxism and Risk Factor in a Young Population

Bruxism is a parafunctional activity characterized by clenching and grinding of the teeth episodes during the day or only at night. These occlusal forces prolonged in time may be associated with alterations of tooth occlusal surfaces, masticatory muscles, temporomandibular joints and periodontal tissues. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk factors for Bruxism. Methods: Through a cross-sectional design. A random sample of 854 students of ¨Colegio de Bachilleres¨ in the state of Campeche México was evaluated. The 49 % were woman, the average age was 16.9 SD ± 1.4 with a range between 13 and 24 years. The clinical examinations were carried out by one standardized examiner (Intraexaminer Unweighted kappa= 0.90), in the clinical, with daylight and a tongue depressor. Previously the indicators that have been used were registrated: socio demographic variables: age and sex; clinical indicators: occlusal interferences, malocclusions, overbite and overjet, anxiety and stress. Results: The prevalence of Bruxism was 36.4 %. With the proposal to evaluate the interaction and to control the confusion, a model for logistic regression was constructed. The coefficients of the final equation were: Bruxism = overjet (.153) + Malocclusions (,380) + occlusal interferences (.077) + Anxiety (.021). Conclusion: These data provide further confirmation of the association between Bruxism and overjet, malocclusions, occlusal interference extending this association to anxiety.