Influence of Mother’s Working Status on Occurrence of Bruxism in Children

Introduction: Bruxism is the habitual, grinding involuntarily or clenching of the teeth that affect both children and adults. Bruxism activity is of major concern for the dentists as it leads to tooth wear and damage, restoration fractures, temporal headache and other temporomandibular disorders. Aim: The aim of the study is to determine the mothers's work status on bruxism in their children. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried out over a period of 3 months among 4-6 years old children from different schools in Chennai. The survey was carried out in their respective school premises. The estimated sample size was 250. Data was collected using self-administered, pretested, validated, close ended, structured questionnaires. This survey consisted of 17 questions regarding women's work status and bruxism in children. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The mean age of the mothers/guardians was 36.6 years. The mean age of children was 4.6 years. Clenching of teeth by children was reported by 22% of the mothers. Out of 250 mothers, 12%, 8% and 10% reported child complaining discomfort in the jaw, aching temples upon awakening and difficulty in opening the mouth after waking up respectively. Conclusion: This survey planned to gather knowledge of mother's work status on bruxism in children and from the survey it was proved that mother's work status plays a major role in children having bruxism.