Bruxism adalah serangkaian aktifitas kontraksi otot rahang saat tidur yang bersifat ritmik, singkat, dan kuat, terjadi pada posisi sentris maupun eksentris rahang. Bruxism merupakan salah satu etiologi gangguan sendi temporomandibula (STM), namun bagaimana mekanisme dan hubungannya dengan gejala gangguan STM masih menjadi kontroversi dan belum jelas. Tujuan dari penelitian cross sectional ini adalah untuk mencari hubungan antara bruxism dan nyeri atau kaku STM pada mahasiswa preklinik FKGUI tahun 2007. Penelitian dilakukan di FKGUI, dimulai dari akhir November sampai minggu pertama Desember 2007, melibatkan 128 subyek penelitian yang dipilih berdasarkan random sampling. Subyek diminta menjawab 3 kuesioner yang diadaptasi dari RDC (Research Diagnostic Index), Diagnostic Index dan Oral Parafunction dan data kemudian dianalisa enggunakan uji Fisher.Hasil penelitian menunjukkan prevalensi bruxism sebesar 15.6%, yang mengalami nyeri atau kaku STM 8.6%, yang sering mengalami kaku sesaat di sekitar STM pada pagi hari saat bangun tidur 3.1%, dan yang jarang 22.7%. Untuk bruxism dan gejala nyeri atau kaku STM, hasil analisis menunjukkan nilai p=0.376 (p>0.05) dengan demikian dapat disimpulkan tidak ada hubungan antara bruxism dan nyeri STM. Hasil analisis hubungan antara bruxism dan kaku sesaat di sekitar STM pada pagi hari saat bangun tidur menunjukkan nilai p=0.498 (p>0.05), sehingga dapat disimpulkan tidak ada hubungan antara bruxism dan kaku sesaat di sekitar STM pada pagi hari saat bangun tidur. Sebagai kesimpulan, dapat dikatakan bahwa tidak ada hubungan antara bruxism dan nyeri atau kaku STM pada mahasiswa preklinik FKGUI tahun 2007.

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Bruxism is a sleep-associated series of rhythmic, brief, strong contractions of the jaw muscles occurring in either centric or eccentric jaw position. Bruxism is one of the etiologies of temporomandibular disorder (TMD), but the mechanism and its relationship with TMD symptoms are still controversial and unclear. The purpose of this cross sectional observation is to describe the relationship between bruxism and pain stiffness of TMJ in preclinical dental students of University of Indonesia in 2007. The observation was done from the end of November until the first week of December 2007 at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Indonesia. One hundred and twenty eight subjects were selected by simple random sampling method and answered three questionnaires adopted from the RDC (Research Diagnostic Criteria), Diagnostic Index and Oral Parafunction. The data was analyzed by Fisher`s test.The results showed that bruxism prevalence was 15.6%, TMJ pain or stiffness was 8.6%, often experienced jaw stiffness when waking up in the morning was 3.1%, and 22.7% seldom experienced this symptom. Result for testing the relationship between bruxism and TMJ pain or stiffness was p=0.376 (p>0.05), hence we can conclude that there is no relationship between bruxism and TMJ pain or stiffness. Result for testing the relationship between bruxism and jaw stiffness when waking up in the morning was p=0.498 (p>0.05), which means that there is also no relationship between bruxism and jaw stiffness when waking up in the morning. In conclusion, there was no relationship between bruxism and pain or stiffness of TMJ on preclinical dental students of University of Indonesia in 2007.