Bruxism used to screen for bruxism in both the clinical and research settings. For tooth grinders who live in same household with other people, diagnosis of grinding is straightforward: Housemates or family members would advise a bruxer of recurrent grinding. Grinders who live alone can likewise resort to a sound-activated tape recorder. To confirm the condition of clenching, on the other hand, bruxers may rely on such devices as the Bruxchecker, Bruxcore, or a beeswax-bearing biteplate. The Individual (personal) Tooth-Wear Index was developed to objectively quantify the degree of tooth wear in an individual, without being affected by the number of
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