Age is associated with self-reported sleep bruxism, independently of tooth loss

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the association between self-reported sleep bruxism (SB) and age is modified by the presence of tooth loss.

A cross-sectional study was done involving 1,930 residents, ranging from 18 to 89 years of age, who underwent health checkups at the rural health center in Japan. The data collection included oral examinations and self-administrated questionnaires.

The prevalence of self-reported SB was 8% (n = 152). It was higher in the groups ranging from 30 to 39 and 40 to 49 years of age in comparison to the groups composed of individuals older than 60 years of age. In the crude analyses, the prevalence of self-reported SB was associated with tooth loss, male, smoking, snoring, sleep talking and a history of childhood teeth grinding. A multiple logistic regression confirmed a significant relationship between self-reported SB and the groups of 30-39 years of age (OR: 2.78, P = 0.003) and 40-49 years of age (OR: 2.31, P = 0.005). Snoring (OR: 2.58, P = 0.001) and known (OR: 8.09, P < 0.001) or unknown (OR: 3.03 P < 0.001%) childhood teeth grinding also showed to be related to self-reported SB.

The present study demonstrates that self-reported SB is associated with age, independently of tooth loss. The associations between SB and age will await further physiological investigations.