Bruxismo e ansiedade em pacientes infantis: revisão da literatura

Abstract

Bruxism is a condition caused by the repetitive movement of the chewing muscles, classified into Waking Bruxism and Sleep Bruxism. This study aims to review the literature on the relationship between anxiety and bruxism in children. A search was carried out in the Pubmed and Capes Periodicals databases, using the descriptors “Bruxism”, “child” and “anxiety”, with their respective terms in English: “Bruxism”, “children” and “anxiety”. The terms quoted were combined with each other. The period of publications were 2011 to 2021, with articles in English and Portuguese being selected. Anxiety was considered as a psychological risk factor in school-age children related to their development and interpersonal relationships. There was an association between bruxism and anxiety in most studies. So far, a standard treatment protocol has not been established, but it is extremely important to identify the triggering sources and a multidisciplinary follow-up in order to alleviate their effects and establish an effective therapy.