PREVALENCE AND IMPACT OF BRUXISM IN HEALTH SCIENCES UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Introduction: Acts of grinding or clenching teeth while asleep or awake can be classified as a parafunctional pathology, resulting from emotional and psychological imbalance and directly affecting quality of life. In university students in the health field, the strenuous routine of studies, assessments and practices can be a driving factor for the development of bruxism. Objective: To analyze the prevalence of bruxism in university students in the health field through literature. Methodology: This is an integrative review, with a search for articles in the SciELO, MEDLINE via PubMed, LILACS and BBO databases. The keywords “bruxism”, “students” and “health” and their variants in English and Portuguese were used, from 2019 to 2024. Results: The average of the researched academics and bruxists was 24 years old. The prevalence of the gender factor brings the female as the most affected by bruxism. Some studies showed that daytime bruxism was the most prevalent, and others did not specify the type. The causal factor had stress and anxiety as the main causes of bruxism, with depression, chronotype and sleep quality being allies of parafunction. And problems such as periodontitis, muscle dysfunction and tooth fracture were consequential in bruxers. Conclusions: Bruxism in university students in the health field arises from psychosocial impacts that cause functional imbalances in these people. It is important to detect parafunction as early as possible and seek psychological and dental treatment. Therefore, it is suggested that multidisciplinary monitoring of students can contribute to preventing and treating the disease in this population. Expanding this line of study is essential to assist in scientific advancement and the health of university students.

Keywords: Bruxism; Health Occupations Students; Estrés Psicológico; Tooth wear; Review.