Prevalence of Sleep Bruxism Reported by Parents/Caregivers in a Portuguese Pediatric Dentistry Service: A Retrospective Study

André Brandão de Almeida, Rita Salgado Rodrigues, Carina Simão, Raquel Pinto de Araújo and Joana Figueiredo
Additional contact information
André Brandão de Almeida: Lisbon Pediatric Dentistry Service (SOL—Serviço Odontopediátrico de Lisboa), Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, 1000-049 Lisbon, Portugal
Rita Salgado Rodrigues: Lisbon Pediatric Dentistry Service (SOL—Serviço Odontopediátrico de Lisboa), Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, 1000-049 Lisbon, Portugal
Carina Simão: Lisbon Pediatric Dentistry Service (SOL—Serviço Odontopediátrico de Lisboa), Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, 1000-049 Lisbon, Portugal
Raquel Pinto de Araújo: Lisbon Pediatric Dentistry Service (SOL—Serviço Odontopediátrico de Lisboa), Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, 1000-049 Lisbon, Portugal
Joana Figueiredo: Lisbon Pediatric Dentistry Service (SOL—Serviço Odontopediátrico de Lisboa), Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, 1000-049 Lisbon, Portugal

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-7

Abstract: The definition of sleep bruxism (SB) has changed over the years, and although it is no longer defined as a disorder, it is considered a risk factor that can result in prejudicial systemic and stomatognathic issues. The prevalence of SB in children is variable among studies, and its decrease during adolescence is a controversial matter among authors. We aimed to determine SB prevalence and assess its trend with age in a sample of pediatric patients who frequented the Lisbon Pediatric Dentistry Service. We conducted a retrospective observational study based on information provided by patients’ parents/caregivers and without examination or polysomnography examination. Data were collected between August 2019 and December 2020 by five dentists. A total of 1900 patients were included, 50.6% and 49.4% of which were male and female, respectively. Of the total sample, 334 (17.6%, 95% confidence interval of 15.9–19.4%) had bruxism, corresponding to 18.9% and 16.2% of male and female patients, respectively ( p = 0.121). SB was reported in 20.7% of patients 0–6 years old, in 19.4% of those 7–11 years old, and in 14.6% of those 12–17 years old. In conclusion, SB showed a slightly higher prevalence among male pediatric patients, but further studies are needed to rule out confounding factors.

Keywords: sleep bruxism; children; pediatrics; clenching teeth; prevalence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/7823/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/7823/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:13:p:7823-:d:848015

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().