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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffDoctors don't completely understand the causes of bruxism. Possible physical or psychological causes may include:
- Anxiety, stress or tension
- Suppressed anger or frustration
- Aggressive, competitive or hyperactive personality type
- Abnormal alignment of upper and lower teeth (malocclusion)
- Changes that occur during sleep cycles
- Response to pain from an earache or teething (in children)
- Growth and development of the jaws and teeth (for children)
- Complication resulting from a disorder, such as Huntington's disease or Parkinson's disease
- An uncommon side effect of some psychiatric medications, including certain antidepressants.
References
- What is bruxism? Academy of General Dentistry. http://www.knowyourteeth.com/infobites/abc/article/?abc=w&iid=292&aid=1137. Accessed Feb. 19, 2009.
- ADA Division of Communications. For the dental patient...do you grind your teeth? Journal of the American Dental Association. 2005;136:559.
- Lobbezoo F. Principles for the management of bruxism. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation. 2008;35:509.
- Huynh N. Weighing the potential effectiveness of various treatments for sleep bruxism. Journal of the Canadian Dental Association. 2007;73:727.
- Policy on oral habits. American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Policy on oral habits. Chicago, IL.: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. http://www.aapd.org/media/Policies_Guidelines/P_OralHabits.pdf#xml=http://pr-dtsearch001.americaneagle.com/service/search.asp?cmd=pdfhits&DocId=58&Index=F%3a%5cdtSearch%5caapd%2eorg&HitCount=12&hits=46+5f+ac+f8+104+109+28d+2fc+315+32c+38e+3a3+&hc=49&req=bruxism. Accessed March 10, 2009.
- Aloe F. Sleep bruxism treatment. Sleep Science. 2009;2:49.
- Lavigne GJ, et al. Sleep bruxism. In: Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.:Elsevier Saunders; 2005:946.
- Lavigne GJ, et al. Bruxism physiology and pathology: An overview for clinicians. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation. 2008;35:476.
- Klasser GD, et al. Oral appliances in the management of temporomandibular disorders. Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontics. 2009;107(2):214.
