OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA AND BRUXISM IN ADULT: an umbrella review

• Grant number: 24/19169-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Almiro José Machado Júnior
• Grantee: Karen Kaufmann Pereira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia (ICT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José dos Campos. São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Bruxism is the involuntary chewing habit that causes extensive tooth wear. Sleep Apnea Syndrome is a disorder in which the airways are frequently blocked during sleep. Both are related to sleep and breathing, influencing several aspects of oral and systemic health. They have a multifactorial etiology, dependent on genetic factors, body mass, age, etc. Both physiological and anatomical factors, as well as extrinsic factors (stress and habits) can relate them, creating predispositions to the development of both OSA and bruxism. Understanding how these diseases are related allows us to identify the first warning signs, allowing for an early diagnosis and faster and more personalized treatment, improving the patient's quality of life. Objectives: The study seeks to relate, through the chosen methodology, bruxism in adults and the development of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome. The factors that may or may not connect them directly or indirectly will be investigated. Methods: An umbrella review will be conducted according to the recommendations of the PRISMA methodology to make the review more complete and faithful to the results found. The search filters Meta-analysis, Analysis and Systematic Review will be used on the PubMed, SciElo, Scopus and BVS platforms. Publications from 2000 to 2024 will be analyzed, using the keywords Bruxism, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Adults, Sleep Bruxism, with the exclusion of the word Children. Only articles that used the polysomnography exam to diagnose OSAS and bruxism will be included. In the search, articles that stray from the topic, are repeated or are not in accordance with the methodology used in the umbrella review will be excluded. The acronym PICO (acronym for Population, Intervention, Comparative group, Outcomes) will be used to direct searches according to the research question, as well as the ROBIS tool to determine the risk of bias. The risk of bias will be assessed according to the ROBIS tool - Risk of Bias in Systematic Reviews, involving two independent reviewers and, if necessary, a third. The texts will be examined in search of factors of divergence and convergence between their findings on the subject, in order to reach a conclusion as to whether there is a relationship between bruxism in adults and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome.