Bruxism that may accompany bruxism, but by mechanically protecting the teeth rather than reducing the bruxing activity itself. In a minority of cases, sleep bruxism may be made worse by an occlusal splint. Some patients will periodically return with splints with holes worn through them, either because the bruxism is aggravated, or unaffected by the presence of the splint. When tooth-to-tooth contact is possible through the holes in a splint, it is offering no protection against tooth wear and needs to be replaced. Occlusal splints are divided into partial or full-coverage splints according to whether they fit over some or all
Bruxism then observed high levels of bruxism-like muscular activity in rats that were allowed to watch this treatment compared to rats that did not see it. They proposed that the rats who witnessed the electrical shocking of other rats were under emotional stress which may have caused the bruxism-like behavior. Some research suggests that there may be a degree of inherited susceptibility to develop sleep bruxism. 21–50% of people with sleep bruxism have a direct family member who had sleep bruxism during childhood, suggesting that there are genetic factors involved, although no genetic markers have yet been identified. Offspring of people