Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2025
08:47
Mimicking and Measuring Occlusal Erosive Tooth Wear with the "Rub&Roll" and Non-contact Profilometry
Published on: February 2, 2018
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Sleep Bruxism in Children: A Narrative Review
Alexander K C Leung1, Alex H C Wong2, Joseph M Lam3
1Department of Pediatrics, The University of Calgary, Alberta Children's Hospital, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Current Pediatric Reviews
|September 19, 2023
Summary
Sleep bruxism in children often resolves on its own and may not require specific treatment. Focus on good sleep hygiene and addressing potential triggers for managing this common condition.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Sleep Medicine
- Dental Sleep Medicine
Background:
- Sleep bruxism, involuntary teeth grinding during sleep, is prevalent in children.
- Diagnosis can be challenging as children are often unaware of the condition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide physicians with guidance on diagnosing and managing sleep bruxism in children.
- To review current diagnostic criteria and treatment approaches.
Main Methods:
- Literature search in PubMed Clinical Queries using terms 'Bruxism' OR 'Teeth grinding' AND 'sleep'.
- Included observational studies, clinical trials, and reviews from the past 10 years in English.
- Focused on diagnostic criteria from the International Classification of Sleep Disorders and International Consensus on the Assessment of Bruxism.
Main Results:
- Diagnostic criteria include frequent tooth grinding sounds plus abnormal tooth wear, jaw muscle fatigue, headache, or jaw locking.
- Polysomnography is the gold standard but often impractical; clinical diagnosis relies on history and physical findings.
- Childhood sleep bruxism is typically self-limited, with management focusing on sleep hygiene and eliminating triggers.
Conclusions:
- Sleep bruxism in children is often transient and may not need specific treatment.
- Current evidence for effective interventions is inconclusive, and pharmacotherapy is rarely recommended.
- Further research is needed to establish evidence-based treatment recommendations for pediatric sleep bruxism.
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