The Effectiveness of Stress-Management-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Bruxism Severity, Anxiety, and Sleep Quality in Patients with Sleep Bruxism
Keywords:
sleep bruxism, cognitive-behavioral therapy, stress management, anxiety, sleep quality, bruxism severityAbstract
Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of stress-management-based cognitive-behavioral therapy on bruxism severity, anxiety, and sleep quality in patients with sleep bruxism.
Methods and Materials: A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest–follow-up design with experimental and control groups was used. Sixty patients with probable sleep bruxism were selected from dental and oral medicine clinics and assigned to an experimental group (n = 30) or a control group (n = 30). The experimental group received eight weekly 90-minute sessions of stress-management-based cognitive-behavioral therapy, while the control group received routine dental recommendations. Bruxism severity, anxiety, and sleep quality were assessed at pretest, posttest, and six-week follow-up. Data were analyzed using mixed-design repeated-measures ANOVA and Bonferroni comparisons.
Findings: Significant time × group interactions were found for bruxism severity, F(2, 116) = 58.92, p < .001, ηp² = .504; anxiety, F(1.71, 99.18) = 44.85, p < .001, ηp² = .436; and sleep quality, F(1.82, 105.67) = 47.74, p < .001, ηp² = .452. Posttest and follow-up comparisons showed significantly greater improvement in the experimental group than the control group (p < .001).
Conclusion: Stress-management-based cognitive-behavioral therapy was effective in reducing bruxism severity, anxiety, and poor sleep quality in patients with sleep bruxism.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Ali Nasr Esfahani (Author); Mohammad Shayan Kolahdouzan
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