Alexithymia and Anger in Patients with Bruxism

Background: Bruxism is a common disorder that is frequently seen and related to psychiatric factors. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the levels of alexithymia and anger at individuals with bruxism against healthy volunteers and investigate the relationship with socio-demographic parameters. Methodology: This study a case-control study where 59 of them with bruxism and 60 are healthy control group who accepted to participate in the study and applied to the psychiatry polyclinic and tooth diseases polyclinic of a university hospital. Data collected sociodemographic form, Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) in company with a clinician. Results: There was a statistically significant differences between TAS-20 total scale score average (52.91±9.09) of the group of individuals with bruxism and TAS-20 total scale score average (47.88±9.81) of the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between BPAQ total scale score average (42.39±15.65) of the group of individuals with bruxism and BPAQ total scale score average (37.68±15.85) of the control group. Conclusions: There was a statistically positive relationship between BPAQ and TAS-20 scale scores. It was shown that the patients with bruxism are highly alexithymic and there is a significant positive relationship between alexithymia and anger levels.