Probable sleep bruxism in children in the mixed dentition stage: prevalence and association with the risk for obstructive sleep apnea-a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Sleep bruxism's (SB) association with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is still not conclusively established. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of probable sleep bruxism (PSB) in a sample of Lebanese children aged six to ten years, and evaluate the association between PSB and OSA risk.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Children recruited from schools were examined for PSB's intra-oral signs, occlusal and mucosal factors. Parents/guardians filled one survey addressing their child's anamnesis, socio-demographic and daily habits' information and another [Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ)] evaluating their OSA risk. Chi-square, Mann-Whitney and logistic regression tests were run between PSB and independent variables. Significance level was set at 0.05.

RESULTS

Among 281 participants, 61.2% showed PSB. PSQ score and the percentage of patients at risk of OSA were higher among PSB than non-PSB patients, without statistical significance (p = 0.169 & 0.238 respectively). Logistic regression confirmed a clear yet non-significant association between PSB and PSQ score (p = 0.058).

CONCLUSION

PSB was identified in 61.2% of the study sample. A positive yet non-significant association was found between PSB and OSA-risk variables. Further investigations are needed to better understand this association.