Community based study of sleep bruxism during early childhood

A selection of abstracts of clinically relevant papers from other journals. The abstracts on this page have been chosen and edited by John R. Radford.

Abstract

It is reported in children, that as the frequency of sleep bruxism increased, so did health problems.

Main

Insana SP, Gozal D et al. Sleep Med 2013; 14: 183–188

These investigators then suggest that sleep bruxism may serve as a 'sentinel marker' for early intervention in order to prevent 'anxious, depressed withdrawn and somatic complaints.' Could the editorial (J Ment Health 2010; 19: 301–304) that explored issues raised by the now recently published DSM-5 (US authority on psychiatric disorders) not offer insight into the above vacuous claim? In this editorial, the authors caution against 'medicalizing' the 'human condition itself'. This retrospective study used data obtained from parental questionnaires obtained from almost five thousand children living in Kentucky. Neurocognitive performance was also assessed. Almost half the children carried out sleep bruxism with a higher prevalence in white than African American children.