Comparison of the Oral Health-Related Quality of Life, Sleep Quality, and Oral Health Literacy in Sleep and Awake Bruxism: Results from Family Medicine Practice

Objectives. Bruxism is a common oral behaviour. This study aimed to compare oral health-related quality of life, sleep quality, and oral health literacy in patients with and without possible sleep bruxism (SB) and awake bruxism (AB). Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study including 249 volunteers was conducted in a family medicine clinic of a tertiary hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. The American Sleep Medicine Association Bruxism Diagnostic Criteria, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) tool, Decay Missing Filled Total Teeth (DMFT) score, and Health Literacy Dental Scale-Short Form (HeLD-14) were assessed by face-to-face interviews. Data were examined using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests, Spearman correlation, and logistic regression analysis. Results. The presence of SB and AB was detected as 41.4% and 21.7%, respectively, among 91 males and 158 females, with a mean age of 36.64 +/- 11.60 years. Sleep and awake bruxers had a lower oral health-related quality of life (odds ratio (OR): 0.816, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.770-0.864 and OR: 0.923, 95% CI = 0.956-0.982, respectively). Poor sleep quality was detected 1.28 times higher in sleep bruxism (OR: 1.277, 95% CI = 1.152-1.415) and 1.14 times higher in awake bruxism (OR: 1.141, 95% CI = 1.230-1.058). The DMFT score was found to be 1.13 times higher in SB (OR: 1.129, 95% CI = 1.043-1.223). A higher HeLD-14 score was associated with a lower DMFT score (p<0.001; r = -0.240). The oral health literacy score was lower in AB and SB groups than in patients without bruxism, but it was not statistically significant (p=0.267, p=0.376). Conclusion. A lower oral health-related quality of life and poor sleep quality would be expected in the presence of SB or AB. However, patients may not be aware of it unless asked by a physician regardless of oral health literacy level.