Sleep Bruxism: A Narrative Review of Current Concepts, Mechanisms, and Clinical Implications.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review without systematic search or quantitative synthesis
PubMed 42016460 · doi:10.1002/snz2.70046
What was done
This narrative review synthesized current literature regarding the definition, prevalence, underlying mechanisms, assessment methods, and clinical management of sleep bruxism. It evaluated contributing factors such as central nervous system pathways, genetic predisposition, sleep architecture alterations, psychosocial stress, respiratory disturbances, and medication effects, alongside management strategies including occlusal appliances, behavioral approaches, and pharmacotherapy.
What was found
The abstract reports no quantitative data, prevalence figures, or statistical effect sizes. Qualitatively, it characterizes sleep bruxism as a multifactorial condition driven by central neurobiological and psychosocial factors (notably individual stress coping capacity) rather than an isolated sleep or movement disorder, noting that management requires targeting identified contributing factors through interdisciplinary care.
Why it matters
It reinforces the modern conceptual shift viewing sleep bruxism as a complex motor behavior with diverse central and psychosocial drivers rather than purely a dental pathology, supporting multi-modal and individualized management strategies.
Limits
This is a narrative review with no systematic search protocol, study quality grading, or meta-analytic pooling reported in the abstract. No original clinical data, sample sizes, or quantitative outcome measures comparing specific treatment efficacies are provided.
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