The relationship between bruxism and occlusal factors among seven- to 19-year-old Turkish children

The aim of this study was (1) to investigate the relationship between occlusal factors and bruxism among 965 Turkish subjects (472 boys and 493 girls) with a mean age of 12.8 years (range, seven to 19 years); and (2) to identify possible sex differences between girls and boys. This sample was divided into two groups of bruxers or nonbruxers based on a clinical examination and self-reports. The examiner recorded the Angle molar classification bilaterally, severity of anterior crowding, existence of anterior and posterior crossbite, open and deep bite, functional shift, and excessive overjet. The relationships between occlusal factors and bruxism and sex differences between boys and girls were evaluated with chi-square analysis (chi2) using the SPSS software package. The results showed that bruxism was diagnosed in 12.6% of all subjects. The evaluation of the findings indicated that no statistically significant relationships were determined between bruxism and occlusal factors. No sex differences were found between occlusal factors in relation to bruxism. The prevalence of bruxism in boys and girls was similar, and no statistically significant differences were found. It is concluded that none of the occlusal factors seem to play a role in the development of bruxism. However, additional longitudinal studies with larger samples need to be conducted to determine if there is any relationship between occlusal factors and bruxism.