Factors associated to bruxism in children from 4-6 years

Bruxism has brought losses for the life quality of people. Its implications in the orofacial motricity and speech of children are still not well known.

To investigate bruxism occurrence and associated factors concerning oral habits, orofacial motricity and functions of chewing, breathing and swallowing in children from 4 to 6 years.

141 children from the referred age group who attend three education centers in São Paulo took part in the study. Parents filled in an investigation protocol on bruxism and the children were submitted to an orofacial motricity assessment. The research group was composed by children whose parents indicated habits of teeth clenching or grinding, during sleep or not. For the statistical analysis the Analysis of Variance, the Two-Proportion Equality Test and the Odds Ratio calculation were used, with a significance level of 5%.

A high occurrence of bruxism among the children (55.3%) was observed. The identified associated factors were: sialorrhea during sleep, pacifier use, habit of lip and fingernails biting, altered cheek tonus and bite, besides the participation of the perioral muscles during liquid swallowing. There was a high occurrence of children from both groups complaining about frequent headaches (76%) and who slept less hours than what is recommended for their age (35%).

The findings corroborated the relationship among bruxism, oral habits and altered aspects of orofacial motricity in children from the studied age group, reinforcing the necessity of speech therapy actions next to the institutions and families.