Awareness of tooth grinding and clenching from adolescence to young adulthood: a nine-year follow-up

J Oral Rehabil. 2010 Jul;37(7):497-500. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2842.2010.02071.x. Epub 2010 Mar 2.

Abstract

How bruxism develops from adolescence to early adulthood remains unclear. A previous database was revisited to evaluate the natural course of self-reported tooth grinding and clenching among young Finns aged 14-23 using four assessments. Overall, the self-reported frequencies of both grinding and clenching increased during the examination period: from 13.7% to 21.7% and from 9.2% to 14.8%, respectively. There were significant increases (without a statistically significant difference between genders) in both grinding (P = 0.002) and clenching (P = 0.015) between 15 and 23 years. A significant rise in grinding between 18 and 23 years was also found (P = 0.011). It is concluded that self-reported bruxism increases from adolescence to young adulthood. Moreover, there are large differences between individuals, and fluctuations may occur in the natural course of bruxism.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Age Factors
  • Awareness
  • Bruxism / physiopathology
  • Bruxism / psychology*
  • Female
  • Finland
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
  • Humans
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Self Concept
  • Sex Factors
  • Sleep Bruxism / physiopathology
  • Sleep Bruxism / psychology
  • Young Adult