BACKGROUND

Bruxism in children and adolescents is underreported and needs strong awareness among parents. No study has attempted to validate the sleep bruxism questionnaire, particularly in Saudi adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to validate the sleep bruxism questionnaire on the experience of jaw pain and limitation of jaw movement in Saudi adolescents from 10 to 19 years of age.

METHODS

This study was a cross-sectional (survey) study in which we distributed an Arabic translation of a questionnaire on sleep bruxism among 200 parents of patients who attended the dental clinics of the Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for treatment. Cronbach's alpha and interclass correlation coefficients were checked for reliability and internal consistency of the items. For validity, convergent validity analysis was accomplished by analyzing temporomandibular disorder and sleep bruxism. The response rate was 85%.

RESULTS

There was a weak association between jaw pain with jaw lock (coefficient value = 0.249) and bruxism (coefficient value = 0.287). Bruxism and jaw lock had a robust correlation (coefficient value = 0.920).

CONCLUSION

The Arabic version of the sleep bruxism questionnaire is reliable and valid for assessing sleep bruxism toward the experience of jaw pain and limitation of jaw movement in Saudi Arabian adolescent patients.