Aoife Stack reviews the evidence to explore the connection between bruxism and airway instability from a dental perspective.
According to Lobbezoo and colleagues (2013a), bruxism is a repetitive jaw-muscle activity characterised by clenching or grinding of the teeth and/or by bracing or thrusting of the mandible.
Bruxism has two distinct circadian manifestations. It can occur during sleep (indicated as sleep bruxism) or during wakefulness (indicated as awake bruxism).
It has long been considered a parafunctional habit associated with stress or occlusal imbalances. However, emerging evidence increasingly implicates sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and airway obstruction as major contributors – particularly in cases of sleep bruxism (Kostrzewa-Janicka et al, 2015).
This connection has profound implications for how we diagnose, treat and refer patients – not only in adults but also notably in paediatric populations, where early intervention can significantly alter craniofacial growth and long-term health outcomes.
Bruxism is broadly classified into two types:
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