The Relationship Between Stress Levels, Sleep Quality, and Oral Health-related Quality of Life in Turkish University Students with Self-reported Bruxism

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep quality, stress levels, and oral health-related quality of life of university students with self-reported sleep/awake bruxism in Turkey. Materials and Methods: Four anonymous questionnaires [Self-reported bruxism, perceived stress scale (PSS), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), and oral health impact profile-14 [(OHIP-14)] were administered to 310 university student volunteers that were randomly selected from the various provinces of Turkey. The participants were required to respond independently to the questionnaires at home and were encouraged to contact the authors for further assistance if needed. Results: Among the study participants, 56.8% were from the school of dentistry and 43.2% from other departments. Of all the participants, 29% had self-reported awake bruxism and 42.3% had self-reported sleep bruxism. A positive correlation was found between the PSS and OHIP-14 results (23.5%) and between the PSQI and PSS (24.6%) results in the students with self-reported awake bruxism (p=0.235, p=0.246; p<0.05). A positive correlation was found between the PSS and OHIP-14 results (23.1%) and between the PSQI and PSS (29.6%) results in the students with self-reported sleep bruxism (p=0.231, p=0.296; p<0.05). Conclusion: Self-reported awake or sleep bruxism was found to be associated with higher stress levels and sleep disturbances and weaker oral health-related quality of life in university students.