Bruxism unaccompanied by mandibular movements."A movement disorder of the masticatory system characterized by teeth-grinding and clenching during sleep as well as wakefulness." "Non-functional contact of the mandibular and maxillary teeth resulting in clenching or tooth grinding due to repetitive, unconscious contraction of the masseter and temporalis muscles." "Parafunctional grinding of teeth or an oral habit consisting of involuntary rhythmic or spasmodic non-functional gnashing, grinding or clenching of teeth in other than chewing movements of the mandible which may lead to occlusal trauma." "Periodic repetitive clenching or rhythmic forceful grinding of the teeth." Bruxism can be subdivided into two types based upon
Bruxism is growing, but still not conclusive. Some consider emotional stress to be the main triggering factor. It has been reported that persons with bruxism respond differently to depression, hostility and stress compared to people without bruxism. Stress has a stronger relationship to awake bruxism, but the role of stress in sleep bruxism is less clear, with some stating that there is no evidence for a relationship with sleep bruxism. However, children with sleep bruxism have been shown to have greater levels of anxiety than other children. People aged 50 with bruxism are more likely to be single and have a