THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES TO NOCTURNAL BRUXISM – A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Introduction. The term “bruxism“defines the friction or “grinding“of the teeth and affects a large part of the population. The early diagnosis of bruxism is of great importance for its treatment and prevention. The objective of the study was to conduct a systematic review of the therapeutic approaches of nocturnal bruxism, including only randomized controlled clinical trials published in the scientific literature. Materials and methods. We analysed data from the following three databases: PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. The EndNote program was used to finalize the selection of articles and simplify the collection of Vancouver-style bibliographic references. Nine studies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were further analysed. Data collection was done by developing a database in Microsoft Excel. Each study underwent a qualitative assessment based on the Jadad scale for reporting randomized controlled clinical trials. Results. Botulinum toxin A reduces the number of episodes of bruxism and the total bruxism time. Pramipexol did not reduce the intensity or severity of nocturnal bruxism. Proton pump inhibitors have moderate effects of reducing the number of episodes of nocturnal bruxism. Biofeedback splint significantly reduces the activity of bruxism. The use of a stretching device led to an increase in the number of episodes of bruxism. Massage and Tray therapy reduces the symptoms of pain. Mandibular advancement device and maxillary occlusal splint reduce the number of bruxism episodes. Conclusions. The physical methods of therapy can reduce the number of bruxism events, their duration, and may alleviate the pain of the masticatory muscles. Pharmacotherapy has proven low efficiency. Botulinum toxin type A is an effective therapeutic option for controlling the nocturnal bruxism.