Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 59, Issue 2, March–April 2014, Page 98
Dental Abstracts

Inquiry
Adolescent bruxism

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2013.11.035Get rights and content

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Background

Clenching and grinding of the teeth characterize bruxism. Sleep bruxism and awake bruxism can occur, with grinding and clenching more common in sleep bruxism and clenching only in awake bruxism. It is suspected that the two disorders have different etiologies and pathophysiologies and are influenced by various factors, such as alcohol and nicotine use, gender, age, educational level, depressive mood, and stress. However, causative mechanisms have not yet been conclusively identified. Although

Methods

First, a pilot study was done to test the feasibility and reliability of the questionnaire approach. Based on the results of this pilot study, 4285 questionnaires were distributed to adolescents age 10 to 22 years in nine Dutch secondary schools. Those questionnaires completed by persons younger than age 12 years and older than 18 years were eliminated, leaving 4205 questionnaires concerning awake bruxism and 4208 questionnaires concerning sleep bruxism to be analyzed.

Results

Sleep bruxism had a prevalence of 14.8% in this population, whereas awake bruxism was self-reported in 8.7%.

Factors that showed a positive relationship with sleep bruxism included gender, with girls having a higher risk for self-reported sleep bruxism than boys; pain or tense feeling in the jaws when awakening in the morning; clicking joint sounds; stress; and feeling blue. Awake bruxism was positively associated with orofacial pain, clicking joint sounds, scraping joint sounds, stress, feeling

Discussion

Self-reported sleep bruxism and awake bruxism were found to be common among adolescents. Several variables were predictive of sleep and/or awake bruxism, including gender, orofacial complaints, and psychosocial stress or depression (feeling blue).

Clinical Significance

Intuitively it seems plausible that a decline in cognitive function will lead to poor oral health. This study documents a modest association between cognitive decline and less frequent toothbrushing, plaque deposits, and a higher

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van Selms MKA, Visscher CM, Naeije M, et al: Bruxism and associated factors among Dutch adolescents. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 41:353-363, 2013

Reprints available from MKA van Selms, Dept of Oral Kinesiology, Academic Ctr for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), Gustav Mahleraan 3004, 1081 LA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; fax: +31 598 0333; e-mail: [email protected]

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