Abstract
Objectives :In the glossary of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain, bruxism is defined as a "total parafunctional daily or nightly activity that includes grinding, gnashing, or clenching of the teeth. It takes place in the absence of subjective consciousness and it can be diagnosed by the presence of tooth wear facets which have not resulted from the chewing function". Although it is not a dysfunction, suitable treatment is needed because it has a destructive influence on a stomatognathic system, when the influence of the frequency and intensity of the action exceeds the tolerance of a living body. However, the cause is not clear, and the sprint treatment is mainly used as symptomatic therapy. The aim of this study is to clarify about the psychological factor relevant to bruxism. Subjects and Method : There were 327 participants (149 male, 178 female) with an average age (±standard deviation) of 50.5 (±17.3). They were divided into 110 non-bruxer, and 217 bruxer according to the diagnosis by dentists. A questionnaire (comprising an egogram and a stress self-evaluation check list) was completed concerning six factors; Critical Parent (CP) ; Nurturing Parent (NP) ; Adult (A) ; Free Child (FC) ; Adapted Child (AC) ; and stress. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association of the above factors with ego-states and stress as the independent variables and the existence of bruxism as the dependent variables. Results : On multiple logistic regression analysis significant relationships were noted for CP(OR=1.08, 95% CI; 1.01-1.16), NP(OR=0.93,95% CI; 0.87-0.99), AC(OR=1.10,95% CI: 1.03-1.19), stress (OR-2.69, 95% CI;1.33-5.42). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that CP, NP, AC and stress were significantly associated with the existence of bruxism. Conclusion : These results indicate that bruxism stems from psychological factors. Bruxer tends to have high score in stress, CP and AC. On the other hand, non-bruxer tend to have high score in NP.
