Mother's work status on children's bruxism in a subset of Saudi population

Abstract

Aims and Objectives:The aims and objectives of this study were to determine if an association exists between mothers work status and her children's incidence of bruxism and habits related to bruxism.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted through data collection of a questionnaire answered by 561 mothers’ about their working status and their child's habits and behaviors. The survey consisted of 5 parts with a total of 34 questions: mother's information, child's behavior, child's sleeping pattern, mother's knowledge about bruxism, and child's medical history. Odds ratios, Chi-square, and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals are reported. Statistical significance was set at P ≤ 0.05.Results:The work status of the mother was not statistically significant in increasing the incidence of a child to have bruxism. However, this study clearly elucidates that 7 of the 15 habits correlate significantly with a status of bruxism. According to this sample, a child, that is, reported to be aggressive is more than twice as likely to have nocturnal bruxism. Likewise, any child that bites their nails, complains of headaches, drools in their sleep, snores, complains of muscle cramps, and colic is more than twice as likely to be a nocturnal bruxer than a child that does not have these habits.Conclusion:The prevalence of children's bruxism in this convenient sample was 34.5% (n = 141). The concerning habits related to bruxism can serve the pediatric dentist, general dentist, general practitioner, and primary care provider of children having these red flags as indicators of bruxism. It is imperative that parents of these children be made aware these habits that may occur together, alone or even simultaneously with bruxism.

Oral Habits: Prevalence and Effects on Occlusion Among 7 to 13 Years Old School Children in Aseer, Saudi Arabia

“…In a study based in Tehran, nail biting was the most frequent habit with a prevalence of 12.5% [14]. Consequently, a study conducted in Saudi Arabia reported the prevalence of sleep bruxism was 37.6% with the most common oral habit [15]. Nail biting is often associated with anxiety or stress, and the trend of higher prevalence of nail biting practices as age increases could be linked to the challenges children face stressful conditions.…”

Sleep bruxism in children and adolescents—A scoping review

“…21 Oral habits, such as nail biting, are also twice more likely to be reported in children with possible SB than without SB through parental reports. 7 Nocturnal agitation and nightmares were also associated with possible SB in children. 25 Some respiratory conditions, like asthma, snoring, respiratory allergies, adenotonsillar hypertrophy and obstructive sleep apnoea are shown to be associated with SB in children and adolescents (see Figure 2).…”

“…based on parental reports) ranges from 25.2% to 34.5% in school aged children. [6][7][8][9] In teenagers, between 10 and 19 years old, the possible SB prevalence is reported at 52.9%. 10 In a retrospective study, the prevalence of possible SB across ages was 20.7% in children 0-6 years old, 19.4% in children 7-11 years old and 14.6% in children 12-17 years old, with no gender difference.…”

“…Children, aged between 4 and 10 years old, who are reported to have aggressive behaviour are twice more likely to have possible SB. 7 In a pilot study, 40% of children with SB scored on attention and behavioural problems. 21 Oral habits, such as nail biting, are also twice more likely to be reported in children with possible SB than without SB through parental reports.…”

“…8 Other behaviours during sleep are reported to occur more often in children with possible SB, such as drooling during sleep and snoring. 7,27 In addition, there is also a higher incidence of probable SB (67% vs. 39%) in children who score high risk of obstructive sleep apnoea using the OSA-18 questionnaire in comparison to those who score low to moderate risk. 28 Thus while sleep-disordered breathing and SB may occur in the same children, it remains unclear if and how they are linked.…”