The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of degenerative bone changes of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in individuals suffering from sleep bruxism (SB), associating these characteristics with the quality of sleep. For this, we followed the International Classification of Sleep Disorders for the diagnosis of SB, in addition to the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) for the classification of TMD and cone beam computed tomography. It was found that 97.7% of the individuals with bruxism had at least 1 RDC/TMD group III diagnosis, 75.6% of the subjects considered their sleep quality as poor, and the largest group (23%) had centric bruxism. There was no significant association between the pattern of sleep quality (P = 0.36), the type of SB (P = 0.277), and the presence of degenerative changes of the TMJ. Regardless of the quality of sleep and the type of bruxism presented, the prevalence of degenerative bone disorders was high (67%) among women with a mean age of 46 years and a clinical diagnosis of SB.

Several factors are cited as capable to influence the development of Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD), among them, the psychological, systemic, genetic, and occlusal factors. The curve of Spee is the factor directly related to the TMJ. However, the combination of variations in amplitude, and the presence of signs and symptoms of TMD have not been investigated. Objective: The aim of this study was to measure the curve of Spee in patients with TMD, through the use of study models, comparing these values with the different clinical and symptomatic presentations of such individuals. We evaluated 198 models of patients treated at the care service for patients with TMD at UFJF. The maximum depth of the curve was determined by the sum of the distances between the lowest part of the buccal cusp of the posterior teeth of each hemiarch to a reference plane, using a caliper to measure. The following factors were considered: gender, presence of myalgia (temporal, masseter, medial pterygoid, lateral and sternocleidomastoid muscles) and TMJ arthralgia, and the presence of occlusal interferences and parafunctional habit of bruxism. For statistical analysis, we used T-test and ANOVA test with a significance level of 5%. Conclusion: There was a statistically significant association between the presence of occlusal interferences and changes in the curve (p = 0.01). There was no association between the following factors: the presence of myalgia and/or arthralgia, gender, achievement of bruxism, and the type of TMD presented with changes in the Spee curve.

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