Frequency of Bruxism among School Children in Tirana City

The term bruxism is said to come from the Greek word brychein, which means to grind or gnash the opposing rows of upper and lower molar teeth. Per recent classification of sleep disorders, bruxism is defined as a sleep-related movement disorder. This crosssectional descriptive study was done on 226 412 year old children, who were referred to our dental clinic in Tirana city 20142015. After acquiring the parents informed consent, a questioner was administrated to all participants. A total of 226 children were included in the study. Fifty five (60 %) patients were girls and 40 (38.2 %) boys with a mean age of patients was 7.4 (2.4) years. Bruxism began in these children at the age of 4.5 (2.5) years. As reported by parents, 57 (25 %) 95 %CI (19.5-31.2). Parasomnias were stated by parents in 50 % of children, drooling being the most (25 %), and snoring the least (5 %). Effective management of bruxism relies on the recognition of potential causative factors associated with the condition. For example, since daytime or diurnal bruxism may be confounded by factors such as stress, distress, and other psychosocial parameters, considering interventions such as habit modification, relaxation therapy, biofeedback, or counseling may be appropriate.