Sleep Bruxism in Puerperal Women: Data from a Population-Based Survey

Objective To evaluate the self-reported SB prevalence and explore associated risk factors in puerperal women who had given birth in Rio Grande, Southern Brazil. Methods A single, standardized questionnaire was given within the 48 h postpartum period. Self-reported SB was the main outcome investigated. Chi-square test was used to compare proportions, and Poisson regression with robust variance adjustment was used in the multivariate analysis. Results A total of 2225 women were included. Only 79 (3.6%) of these reported clenching or grinding their teeth during sleep. Adjusted analysis showed that the higher education level of the mothers (PR = 3.07; 95% CI 1.49–6.28; P = 0.006); living with three or more persons in the household (PR = 0.54; 95% CI 0.34–0.84; P = 0.007); medication intake during pregnancy (PR = 1.68; 95% CI 1.09–2.58; P = 0.017); smoking (PR = 1.93; 1.16–3.23; P = 0.024), or ever smoked (PR = 1.82; 95% CI 0.85–3.90; P = 0.024); severe anxiety (PR = 1.36; 95% CI 0.61–3.02; P = 0.005); and headache upon waking (PR = 4.19; 95% CI 1.95–9.00; P < 0.001) were significantly associated with self-reported SB. Conclusion for Practice Our data pointed towards new factors in a specific group of women that may be relevant for preventing sleep-related behaviors in the pregnancy–puerperal cycle. The higher levels of education, medication intake, smoking or even smoked, severe anxiety, the higher the probability of puerperal woman to self-report SB. The nighttime tooth clenching strongly increased headache upon waking.