Introduction: Sleep bruxism (SB) is defined as a repetitive jaw muscle activity whose epidemiology in adolescents has been little studied. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of sleep bruxism and associated factors in adolescents.
Methodology: The sample consisted of 594 students aged 11 to 14 years old from Teresina, Piauí, Brazil. Self-administered questionnaire was answered by parents/caregivers and dental clinical examination was performed. Pearson's chi-squared test was used to assess the association between SB and independent variables. Poisson regression analysis with robust variance was applied, with results expressed in prevalence ratio (PR).
Results: The prevalence of SB in adolescents was 22.2%. Multivariate analysis showed a higher prevalence of SB in male gender adolescents (PR = 1.41; 95%CI 1.04 - 1.89), presenting snoring (PR = 1.39; 95%CI 1.02 - 1.89) and difficulty falling asleep (PR = 1.92; 95%CI 1.38 - 2.66).
Conclusion: SB is a frequent condition in adolescents, and the factors associated with its prevalence were: male sex, snoring and difficulty falling asleep.