Forms of treatment of sleep bruxism in children

Abstract

Introduction: sleep bruxism is an orofacial masticatory muscle activity of multifactorial cause; it can cause primary headaches, which are regulated by the central nervous system. Objective: describe forms of treatment of sleep bruxism in children. Method: a bibliographic review was carried out based on a search of the PubMed and Scielo databases for articles on sleep bruxism in children. As selection criteria, studies carried out in the last 7 years in a child population between 5 and 12 years of age were accepted. A total of 232 articles were found in the PubMed database and 9 in the Scielo database. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria and analyzing the abstracts, 30 articles were finally selected. Development: The treatment of bruxism is challenging and requires the cooperation of the doctor, the parents and the child. Currently, BS is treated with physical therapy. Treatment methods commonly used to treat BS in pediatric patients are kinesiotherapy, massage, infrared therapy, and low-level laser therapy. Final considerations: the treatment of bruxism requires the cooperation of the doctor, the parents and the child. However, although occlusal appliances are widely used to treat bruxism in adults, a specific strategy based on appliance therapy for children has not been established.