Prevalence of sleep bruxism and associated factors in Tanta preschool children

Introduction Bruxism is a common condition in the pediatric dentistry clinics; it is reported more frequently in children than in adults and has different effects on a person's quality of life. Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of sleep bruxism and associated factors among 4–6-year-old preschool children of Tanta city. Patients and methods The work was cross-sectional observational design. The sample consisted of 1000 children aged 4–6-year-old in public and private kindergarten of Tanta city. Data were collected through parents/guardians-based questionnaire and clinical inspection of participating children that was done by the same inspector. Results The results of the work revealed that the prevalence of sleep bruxism among the sample children was 17.6%. There were significant differences regarding family history of sleep bruxism, presence of newborn and gastrointestinal disorders. A relationship between bruxism and nail/tongue biting, mouth breathing and sleep with hand on face was found in addition to TMJ disorders. Also, by doing regression test analysis gastrointestinal disorders, family history of sleep bruxism and molar relation as distal relation was found to be the most affecting variable to bruxism. Conclusions The prevalence of sleep bruxism among the study sample of preschool children was 17.6%. There was no significant difference between sex, age, and bruxism, but there was a significant relationship between the presences of newborn, gastrointestinal disorder, and bruxism. The feeding way either normal or artificial had no relation to sleep bruxism. There was a relationship between sleep bruxism and nail-biting habit, mouth breathing, tongue biting, and sleep with a hand on the face. There was no significant correlation between bruxism and occlusion except with molar relation. TMD had significant correlation with bruxism.