# Association of sleep bruxism with obstructive sleep apnea and gastroesophageal reflux disease: a cross-sectional study in Egyptian governmental dental clinics

## TL;DR

This study found that sleep bruxism is common in Egypt and linked to GERD but not to sleep apnea.

## Contribution

The study is the first to investigate the association between sleep bruxism, GERD, and OSA in an Egyptian population.

## Key findings

- The prevalence of sleep bruxism in the Egyptian population was 13.0%.
- Sleep bruxism was significantly associated with higher rates and severity of GERD.
- No significant association was found between sleep bruxism and obstructive sleep apnea.

## Abstract

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to quantify the prevalence of sleep bruxism (SB) in an Egyptian population sample and to identify possible associations between SB, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

This study was conducted on patients visiting dental clinics of three governmental institutions: the National Research Centre, Cairo University, and Ain-Shams University in Egypt. All dentulous patients aged 18–70 were included in the study; those with physical or mental disabilities or genetic disorders were excluded. Validated research-made questionnaires and clinical dental examinations were used to diagnose SB, OSA, and GERD. Statistical analysis was performed to study possible associations. The significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05.

Nine hundred ninety-one subjects participated in this study. The prevalence of SB was 13.0%. The mean and standard deviation (SD) of the OSA score in sleep bruxers were 1.48 (1.55), as opposed to 1.35 (1.5) for non-sleep bruxers, showing no statistical significance with p = 0.388. The prevalence of GERD in the population was 22.7%; in sleep bruxers, 36.4% and in non-sleep bruxers, 20.7%, showing high statistical significance. The mean GERD score for sleep bruxers was 7.24 (2.36), as opposed to 6.69 (1.79) for non-sleep bruxers, also showing statistical significance with p = 0.002.

The Egyptian population has a high prevalence of SB (13.0%). An association between SB and GERD was manifested. However, no relation between SB and OSA was found.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12903-026-07847-0.