Abstract

Background: Dental education and practice have been acknowledged as one of the most challenging and stressful fields. Scientific literature has shown that dental students display high levels of perceived stress as well as higher prevalence of self-reported bruxism.

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of a deep breathing exercises approach to manage bruxism among a cohort of dental students with self-reported bruxism.

Methods: This experimental study was conducted in two phases among 48 undergraduate dental students in the preclinical and clinical years who self-reported bruxism as well exhibited common signs and symptoms of bruxism. Following their response to a pre-validated questionnaire which assessed the presence of bruxism as well as perceived stress the eligible participants were examined for common signs and symptoms of bruxism to confirm the diagnosis. In phase two, following informed consent the participants were asked to perform a 10-minute deep breathing exercise protocol once daily for a period of four weeks. The occlusal Bite force was evaluated using Flexiforce^® (Tekscan) device pre- and post- intervention and data were compared and analyzed using JMP statistical software.

Results: The results demonstrated that 25.3% of the dental students at KSAU-HS had bruxism. Moreover, the most common sign of bruxism was linea alba (cheek bite keratosis) which has been found in 76% of our participants. Paired sample t-test showed a statistically significant difference, and the mean post intervention bite force was found to be 65.6 N less than the pre- intervention values, and a p value of < 0.0001. However, there was no significant difference between the pre- and post-intervention perceived stress levels among the participants.

Conclusion: Breathing exercises have been effective in decreasing the occlusal bite force of patients diagnosed with bruxism thus we recommend considering them an effective adjunctive therapy to treat bruxism and incorporate them into the clinical practice.

Keywords: Perceived Stress; Occlusal Bite Force; Parafunctional Habits; Behavioral Therapy; Bruxism; Dental Students; Perceived Stress; Breathing Exercises

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