• Claudia Tavares Silva, Ivan Raphael Calabrio, Júnia Maria Serra-Negra, Andréa Fonseca-Gonçalves, and Lucianne Cople Maia.
• a Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics , School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil.
• Cranio. 2017 Jul 1; 35 (4): 223-227.

BackgroundBruxism is a repetitive jaw-muscle activity characterized by the clenching or grinding of teeth and/or the bracing or thrusting of the mandible.ObjectiveThis study assessed parents/guardians' knowledge of nocturnal bruxism in children/adolescents.MethodA cross-sectional study using a validated questionnaire was carried out on 134 Brazilian guardians. Data were analyzed descriptively and through the chi-square test to assess the association if guardians reported bruxism and the causes and consequences of nocturnal bruxism.ResultsMothers (68.7%) were the main contributors; 23.1% said their child had bruxism. Although most participants (73.9%) had no opinion, some believe bruxism is linked to emotional stress (13.4%), mysticism/religiosity (3.7%), health (3.7%) or dental problems (3.0%), and presence of parasites (2.2%). Among the parents/guardians of children without bruxism, 81.9% were unaware of some possible cause versus 18.1% of those with bruxism (p=0.011). There was no association between children with bruxism and the type of sleep (p=0.191) or sleep duration (p=0.377). The majority (90.3%) of guardians whose children have bruxism believe the condition affects their health (p=0.006).ConclusionGuardians have a widespread ignorance about the causes and consequences of sleep bruxism.

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