Associations of Self-Reported Bruxism, Anxiety, and Stress in Healthy Subjects

The aims of the present study were to analyze whether the levels of self-reported bruxism and anxiety associate among healthy subjects, and to investigate the independent effects of anxiety and stress on the probability of frequent bruxism. Objectives: All employees of the Finnish Broadcasting Company with irregular shift work (n=750; 57.0 % men) and an equal number of randomly selected controls in the same company with regular eight-hour daytime work (42.4 % men). Methods: A questionnaire included a) demographic data; b) self-assessed frequency of tooth clenching or grinding; c) anxiety: Symptom Checklist-90; d) level of perceived stress; e) dissatisfaction with current work shift schedule (irregular shifts vs. day time work). Results: The response rate in the shift work group was 82.3% (56.6% men) and in the daytime work group 34.3% (46.7% men). The mean age of males in shift work was 45.0 (SD 10.6) years and of females 42.6 (SD 10.7) years (p<0.001); the figures for daytime workers were 47.4 (SD 9.7) and 45.5 (SD 10.1) years (NS), respectively. Those with awareness of more frequent bruxism tended to report significantly more severe anxiety (p<0.001). According to logistic regression, subjects reporting stress or anxiety were 2.6-6.3 (95 % CI: 2.6-12.6) times more likely to report frequent bruxism (independently and as an interaction term). Dissatisfaction with one's work shift schedule was also associated with frequent bruxism (p< 0.05). Conclusions: The present findings suggest an association between the awareness of bruxism and psychological factors in healthy adults (i.e. not clinical bruxism patients). Further, self-reported frequent bruxism may indicate psychological states as anxiety, stress, or dissatisfaction.