Abstract
Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of headache, facial pain, and bruxism in Japanese undergraduate dental school students.
Methods: Total 304 （104 for Class 2011, 111 for Class 2012, and 89 for Class 2013） third year dental school students at Nihon University School of Dentistry at Matsudo participated in this study. Patients History Questionnaire （PHQ） and Clinical Examination Form of Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders （RDC/TMD） were completed during their mandatory class in temporomandibular disorders and orofacial pain. All students were required to input their data into database via an e-learning system. The answers of question #3 Have you had pain in the face, jaw, temple, in front of the ear, or in the ear in the past month?, #15c: Have you been told, or do you notice that you grind your teeth or clench your jaw while sleeping at night?, #15d: During the day, do you grind your teeth or clench your jaw?, and #18 During the last 6 months have you had a problem with headache or migraines? of PHQ were extracted from the database to investigate the prevalence of headache, facial pain, and bruxism in Japanese dental school students.
Results: The prevalence of headache and facial pain was 51.6％ and 4.6％, respectively. Also, eighty-three subjects （27.3％） reported the bruxism during sleep and 38 subjects （12.5％） reported the bruxism during wakefulness. Multiple regression analysis revealed significant relevance between headache/ facial pain and bruxism.
Conclusion: The prevalence of headache was higher than that of facial pain. Bruxism during sleep in Japanese dental school students was estimated remarkably high compared to adolescent group. Although this prevalence was estimated by self-repot, it was suggested that headache/ facial pain may be affected by bruxism.
