Association between signs and symptoms of bruxism and presence of tori: a systematic review.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic review of observational studies
PubMed 28213765 · doi:10.1007/s00784-017-2081-7
What was done
A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the association between specific signs and symptoms of bruxism and the presence of oral tori. Five databases and three gray literature databases were searched for observational studies. Included studies assessed bruxism symptoms (e.g., teeth grinding, jaw clenching, abnormal tooth wear, facial muscle pain) via questionnaires or anamnesis and confirmed tori clinically. Risk of bias was appraised with the Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument, and overall certainty was rated using GRADE.
What was found
Five studies were included out of 575 identified records. Two studies had a moderate risk of bias and three had a high risk of bias. Self-reported teeth grinding and clenching yielded contradictory results across studies. The presence of abnormal tooth wear increased the odds of having tori, primarily torus mandibularis. The abstract reported no numerical effect sizes or odds ratios.
Why it matters
Identifying physical indicators such as tori in patients with tooth wear may assist clinicians in detecting potential bruxism during routine clinical examinations.
Limits
The review included only five observational studies, all with moderate or high risk of bias. Signs of bruxism were primarily self-reported rather than objectively measured via polysomnography or electromyography, and overall evidence quality was graded low to very low.
Cited by
- context High occlusal forces from teeth clenching and grinding stimulate the formation of oral tori and bone exostoses.