Bruxism in Autistic and Neurotypical Children: Associations With Medication Use and Sleep.

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether medication use, sleep quality, and anxiety were associated with bruxism in autistic and neurotypical children.

METHODS AND

RESULTS

Cross-sectional parent-reported data were collected from 227 children aged 4-12 years, including 40 autistic and 187 neurotypical children. Associations with bruxism were examined using multivariable logistic regression, with stratified and exploratory subgroup analyses. Medication use was not associated with bruxism in the full sample or subgroup analyses. Agitated sleep was associated with higher odds of bruxism in the full sample (AOR = 2.23, p = 0.005) and the neurotypical subgroup (OR = 2.95, p = 0.002), but not in the autistic subgroup. Increasing age was inversely associated with bruxism (AOR = 0.74, p = 0.035). Autism diagnosis, sex, and anxiety were not independently associated with the outcome. Exploratory analyses within the autistic subgroup found no significant associations for sensory differences and support needs.

CONCLUSIONS

Medication use was not associated with bruxism, whereas agitated sleep was associated with higher odds of bruxism in the full sample and neurotypical subgroup. Findings should be interpreted cautiously given the cross-sectional design, parent-reported measures, small and predominantly male autistic subgroup, and absence of medication dosage data.