Updating the Bruxism Definitions: Report of an International Consensus Meeting

Abstract

Background: Bruxism is receiving increasing attention from both clinicians and researchers over the past decades. Recently, it has become clear that some aspects of the currently proposed, expert-driven bruxism definitions raise questions and cause confusion among clinicians, researchers, educators and patients.

Objectives: The aim of this report is threefold: (1) to provide the reader with a glossary of the existing definitions, (2) to discuss frequently asked questions regarding these definitions and (3) to suggest a road map for the next steps to be taken towards a better understanding of bruxism.

Material and methods: A closed (invitation-only) full-day workshop at the 2024 General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research (IADR) convened international bruxism experts to discuss the current definitions. Insights from these discussions were compiled, analysed and summarised.

Result: The present report provides a glossary of the constituent terms of the currently proposed definitions, an overview of the frequently asked questions and insights into the next steps to be taken. By current consensus and to avoid any further confusion, the addendum 'in otherwise healthy individuals' has been removed from the specific definitions of sleep and awake bruxism. In addition, the grading system's hierarchical organisation, as proposed previously, was revised and clarified, proposing the inclusion of terms based on self-reporting, clinical examination and device-based assessment tools.

Conclusion: To ascertain that we all use the same terminology, we recommend using the current publication when referring to the definitions of bruxism and its constituent terms.

Keywords: behaviour; bruxism; consensus; disease; health; terminology.