LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT BRUXISM AND NEUROMYORELAXANT PLAQUES IN DENTAL STUDENTS

Bruxism is a very prevalent parafunction in the population, where teeth are ground or clenched without functional purposes and neuromyorelaxant plates are devices used in the prevention and treatment of damage to the structures of the stomatognathic system, from its practice, which is why the cross-sectional descriptive observational study was conducted, with the aim of identifying the level of knowledge of dental students of the Universidad Autonoma de los Andes (UNIANDES) Ambato, on these issues and the practical application of them. A virtual survey was applied through the digital tool Google Forms, with 10 closed questions with suggested categorized answers, elaborated from basic keys to a total of 123 students who had performed practices in the dental care unit and who with their informed consent wished to participate in the research. Absolute and relative frequencies were used for data analysis and the results were presented in simple frequency distribution figures. The study showed that the knowledge of most of the students on the subject is excellent and that although more than half of them have diagnosed this parafunction, very few have clinically treated patients with neuromyorelaxant plaques, so they should be encouraged to apply their knowledge to practice and give it the due importance it deserves for their future professional performance.