Aim: To investigate associations between self-reported bruxism, masticatory muscle pain and bowel symptoms, and their relationship to the 9 dimensions of the Symptom Checklist-90- Revised (SCL-90-R). Methods: Data from 3 separate validated questionnaires – Bowel Symptom Questionnaire (BSQ) to classify bowel status, Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) to determine self-reported bruxism and masticatory muscle pain on palpation, and SCL-90-R for psychometric assessment were collected for each patient. BSQ used the Rome II criteria to identify the presence or absence of bowel symptoms but did not analyse sub-sets of bowel symptoms. Chi-squared tests were used to test for pairwise associations between bruxism, masticatory muscle pain and bowel status. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent predictors of bruxism and bowel symptoms. Results: Data from 246 surveys were collected for self- reported bruxism, muscle pain and bowel status of which 191 patients completed the SCL- 90R. There was significant association between self-reported bruxism and muscle pain (p=0.004) and bowel symptoms (p=0.020). Bowel problems were identified in 53% patients and 48% patients presented with both self-reported bruxism and bowel problems. There was no significant association between bowel symptoms and muscle pain. Multiple logistic regression analysis identified “muscle pain” and “bowel symptoms” as independent predictors of self-reported bruxism, and “somatization” as the sole independent predictor of bowel symptoms. Conclusion: These data establish a possible relationship between self-reporte bruxism and bowel symptoms, necessitating need for education and formulation of clinical practice guidelines for interdisciplinary care of this group of patients.
