Overview on Sleep Bruxism for Sleep Medicine Clinicians

Abstract

Sleep bruxism (SB) is a common sleep-related jaw motor disorder observed in 8% of the adult population. SB diagnosis is based on history of tooth grinding and clenching and is confirmed by the polysomnographic recording of the electromyographic activity of jaw muscles during sleep. SB may be associated with orofacial pain, headaches, and sleep-disordered breathing. Managing SB cannot be done without a comprehensive clinical and, when indicated, polysomnographic differential diagnosis of other comorbidities, which need to be taken into account to select the best treatment approach.

Keywords: Management; Sleep arousal; Sleep bruxism; Sleep-disordered breathing; Tooth clenching; Tooth grinding.