Sleep bruxism risk factors in children: a literature review

Introduction: Bruxism is defined as a repetitive jaw and muscle activity involving teeth clenching and/or grinding which may occur during everyday activities or during sleep. The aetiology of bruxism includes three groups of causes: psychosocial, personal and pathophysiological factors. Currently, there is no effective method of treatment to completely eliminate the problem of bruxism. Teeth protection and pain reduction methods are used. Bruxism-associated pain is found in approximately 47.6% of children aged 3–6 years. The aim of the present study was to establish sleep bruxism risk factors in children based on a literature review. Material and methods: The material for review included articles from the PubMed, ResearchGate and Google Scholar databases. In order to identify suitable publications the search was conducted using combinations of the following keywords: “bruxism,” “child,” “teeth grinding” (according to Medical Subject Headings, MeSH). This review includes 12 publication regarding sleep bruxism risk factors in children. Results: The association between bruxism and respiratory disorders and that between bruxism and sleep problems were described by three studies each. Stress as a predisposing factor was noted in four articles and parental divorce in two papers. Conclusions: 1) Respiratory disorders during sleep, sleep disorders and stressful situations, particularly parents’ divorce, contribute to sleep bruxism in children. 2) The impact of the remaining factors discussed in this paper on the development of sleep bruxism requires further research.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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