Bruxism is a parafunctional habit characterized by the relentless action of clenching and grinding teeth in an inappropriate way. It can be developed when dental occlusion is altered due to premature contacts between teeth and excursive occlusal interferences. These features can influence its frequency, intensity and duration. The objective of the study was to evaluate the frequency of the habit of bruxism and its relationship with the type of dental occlusion in a group of teenagers. A total of 278 teenagers enrolled in undergraduate level were examined. A questionnaire and an oral examination were conducted for the epidemiological survey. For this purpose, an examiner was previously standardized (malocclusion kappa=0.89, bruxism kappa=0.93). A 51.5% of the adolescents presented bruxism. It was more frequent in the category of the 17-year-olds, with no significant differences by sex. An 81.4% showed a type of dental malocclusion, of which 57.6% were cases of Class I malocclusion, 21.4% of Class II and 2.4% of Class III, without a relationship between bruxism and these categories of dental malocclusion. Conclusion. Bruxism frequency was high, with similar distribution by sex. No association with the type of dental occlusion or with dental malocclusion frequency was found.