Bruxism when the parafunctional activity occurs – during sleep ("sleep bruxism"), or while awake ("awake bruxism"). This is the most widely used classification since sleep bruxism generally has different causes to awake bruxism, although the effects on the condition on the teeth may be the same. The treatment is also often dependent upon whether the bruxism happens during sleep or while awake, e.g., an occlusal splint worn during sleep in a person who only bruxes when awake will probably have no benefit. Some have even suggested that sleep bruxism is an entirely different disorder and is not associated with awake bruxism.
Bruxism to evaluate in which situations bruxism is most prevalent. Many different medications have been used to treat bruxism, including benzodiazepines, anticonvulsants, beta blockers, dopamine agents, antidepressants, muscle relaxants, and others. However, there is little, if any, evidence for their respective and comparative efficacies with each other and when compared to a placebo. A multiyear systematic review to investigate the evidence for drug treatments in sleep bruxism published in 2014 ("Pharmacotherapy for Sleep Bruxism". Macedo, et al.) found "insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy for the treatment of sleep bruxism." Specific drugs that have been studied in sleep bruxism are