Bruxism

Bruxism
Attrition (tooth wear caused by tooth-to-tooth contact) can be a manifestation of bruxism.
SpecialtyDentistry

Bruxism is excessive teeth grinding or jaw clenching. It is an oral parafunctional activity;[1] i.e., it is unrelated to normal function such as eating or talking. Bruxism is a common behavior; the global prevalence of bruxism (both sleep and awake) is 22.22%.[2] Several symptoms are commonly associated with bruxism, including aching jaw muscles, headaches, hypersensitive teeth, tooth wear, and damage to dental restorations (e.g. crowns and fillings).[3] Symptoms may be minimal, without patient awareness of the condition. If nothing is done, after a while many teeth start wearing down until the whole tooth is gone.

There are two main types of bruxism: one occurs during sleep (nocturnal bruxism) and one during wakefulness (awake bruxism). Dental damage may be similar in both types, but the symptoms of sleep bruxism tend to be worse on waking and improve during the course of the day, and the symptoms of awake bruxism may not be present at all on waking, and then worsen over the day.

The causes of bruxism are not completely understood, but probably involve multiple factors.[4][5] Awake bruxism is more common in women, whereas men and women are affected in equal proportions by sleep bruxism.[5] Awake bruxism is thought to have different causes from sleep bruxism. Several treatments are in use, although there is little evidence of robust efficacy for any particular treatment.[6]

  1. ^ Wassell R, Naru A, Steele J, Nohl F (2008). Applied occlusion. London: Quintessence. pp. 26–30. ISBN 9781850970989.
  2. ^ Zieliński G, Pająk A, Wójcicki M (22 July 2024). "Global Prevalence of Sleep Bruxism and Awake Bruxism in Pediatric and Adult Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis". Journal of Clinical Medicine. 13 (14): 4259. doi:10.3390/jcm13144259. ISSN 2077-0383. PMC 11278015. PMID 39064299. This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tyldesley 2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cawson 2002 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Shetty 2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference LOBBEZOO 2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).