STRESS AND BRUXISM: A STUDY AMONG DENTAL AND MEDICAL STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

Objective: This study aimed to determine the association between stress and bruxism. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was done among dental and medical students of the University of Ghana. Anonymized online questionnaires were distributed to the target population. Participants were asked if they, or anyone had noticed them repeatedly grind or clench their teeth while sleep or awake. The questionnaire also included the Perceived Stress scale (PSS) to determine the levels of self-perceived stress among the participants. The presence or absence of bruxism was cross-tabulated with the levels of PSS scores. Results: A total of 129 students participated in this study. These consisted of 70 females. The prevalence of self-reported bruxism in general was 8.5% in the study population. That of sleep bruxism was 5.4%, while awake bruxism was self-reported in an equal number of students. The distribution of self-reported bruxism varied significantly among the different academic levels of the study participants (P=0.008). Students with bruxism reported higher stress scores (P=0.041). Conclusion: Dental and medical students with self-reported bruxism indicated higher stress scores.