Association between possible awake bruxism and bullying among 8- to 11-year-old children/adolescents

Abstract

Background: Bruxism is characterized by tooth grinding and/or clenching.

Aim: To evaluate the association between possible awake bruxism (PAB) and bullying among individuals aged 8-11 years.

Design: A representative cross-sectional study was conducted with 434 eight- to eleven-year-old children/adolescents. Parents/caregivers answered a questionnaire to provide data on sociodemographic characteristics. Children/adolescents answered a questionnaire about the occurrence of PAB. The Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire was used. The Poisson regression analysis was performed.

Results: Of the 434 children/adolescents, 209 (48.2%) were boys and 225 (51.8%) were girls. The mean age of the children/adolescents was 9.14 years (±1.00). Children/adolescents who were victims of bullying (PR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.14-2.04, P = .005) and bullies-victims (PR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.36-3.17, P = .001) presented a higher frequency of PAB than those who were not involved in bullying.

Conclusion: Children/adolescents who were bullying victims and bullies-victims had a higher frequency of PAB.

Keywords: Bruxism; adolescent; behavior; bullying; child; epidemiology.