Bruxism among the population has grown by 23% since 2019, mainly due to the increase in anxiety and stress problems, and is currently the most prevalent oral pathology. Bruxism is the involuntary condition of clenching the teeth until they wear them out or produce inflammation in the gums.
At the same time, 36% of people who regularly went to the dentist have stopped doing so due to the confluence of the pandemic and the economic crisis. Before the pandemic, 55% of citizens went to the dentist every six months and now the percentage of those who do not go has risen to 64%. The reduction is explained by fear of contagion from the covid and for economic reasons.
These are the data that emerge from the 2023 White Paper published by the General Council of Dentists and the Spanish Dental Foundation, with estimates based on a population survey of oral health in Spain after the most acute years of the pandemic. In figures, the most frequently perceived oral problems, some associated with bruxism itself (23%), are sensitive teeth (24%) and bleeding gums (20%), in the latter condition which includes gingivitis or disease periodontal.
The average number of ailments indicated by those who say they have a dental problem has gone from 1.27 in 2019 to 1.46 today, reflecting an accumulation of pathologies in these four years.
