A bibliographical survey of bruxism with special emphasis on non-traditional treatment modalities

Abstract

After proposing a common-sense definition of bruxism, this partial review distills its various symptoms and consequences from the literature. That literature suggests that the splint-the most popular treatment modality-falls short in some respects. The research literature is even less sanguine about the efficacy of such other traditional therapies as sound alarms and stress reduction. Given the limited success of traditional approaches, and given, moreover, the high incidence of bruxism and its harmful consequences, clinicians may occasionally be interested in experimenting with non-intrusive, safe, less widely known, treatment modalities. To meet this need, this review-unlike all other reviews of the subject-focuses on such comparatively unpopular or recent approaches. (J. Oral Sci. 43, 73-83, 2001)