Parental Sociodemographic Characteristics and Bruxism's Risk Factors Among Children: Saudi Arabian Evaluation

This study aimed to assess the association between sleep bruxism (SB) among children and parental sociodemographic characteristics and SB risk factors (eg, nose obstruction).

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 250 parents of children under the age of 13 who visited pediatric dental clinics. Data were collected through a questionnaire completed by parents. Sociodemographic characteristics, the child's medical history, sleep patterns and parents' awareness of bruxism and its symptoms were investigated. Descriptive, bivariate and binary logistic regression analyses were performed.

The response rate was 85.2% (55% females, 45% males) and 25.8% of the parents self-reported that their children had bruxism. The regression analysis revealed that parents reporting SB among their children were significantly more likely to have SB themselves (8.62 [3.68-20.16], p = 0.001). While children whose mothers had lower education level and were unaware of bruxism-related symptoms (such as teeth, jaw, or face pain) were less likely to be reported as having SB (0.35 [0.16-0.75], p = 0.007; 0.36 [0.14-0.97], p = 0.043, respectively). Parents who identified nose obstruction as a cause of bruxism also had children with a higher likelihood of having SB (5.49 [1.04-29.08], p = 0.045).

The findings highlighted that parental sociodemographic characteristic and SB risk factors associated signficantly with the prevalence of childhood SB.