Sleep quality in adult patients with sleep related bruxism

Sleep related bruxism (SB) is the grinding of teeth during sleep and may also be associated with various sleep disorders. However, little is known about sleep structures and disturbances of SB. This study aims to further understand sleep architectures using overnight polysomnography (PSG) in patients with SB. We analyze sleep parameters and architectures in 33 healthy subjects and 25 patients with SB. PSG and sleep questionnaires measured sleep variables including proportions of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, non-REM sleep (N1, N2 and N3), latency to sleep onset, sleep efficiency, wake after sleep onset (WASO), apnea hypopnea index (AHI), respiratory disturbance index (RDI), and periodic limb movement index (PLMI) during sleep for both groups. Sleep efficiency and the proportion of N3 in the SB group were significantly lower than in the control group (P < 0.05). In addition latency to onset of sleep and WASO were markedly increased in the SB group (P < 0.05). AHI, RDI, and PLMI showed no differences between the groups. Epworth Sleepiness Scale was significantly higher in the SB group than in the control group (P < 0.05). In contrast to previous studies, we conclude that patients with SB are not good sleepers based on PSG study. Further studies are required to assess the relationship between sleep quality and the severity of SB.