Bruxism bruxism), but also possibly grinding, and is often associated with other semivoluntary oral habits such as cheek biting, nail biting, chewing on a pen or pencil absent mindedly, or tongue thrusting (where the tongue is pushed against the front teeth forcefully). There is evidence that sleep bruxism is caused by mechanisms related to the central nervous system, involving sleep arousal and neurotransmitter abnormalities. Underlying these factors may be psychosocial factors including daytime stress which is disrupting peaceful sleep. Sleep bruxism is mainly characterized by "rhythmic masticatory muscle activity" (RMMA) at a frequency of about once per second, and also with
Bruxism affects elderly people less commonly. "La bruxomanie" (a French term, translates to "bruxomania") was suggested by Marie Pietkiewics in 1907. In 1931, Frohman first coined the term bruxism. Occasionally recent medical publications will use the word bruxomania with bruxism, to denote specifically bruxism that occurs while awake; however, this term can be considered historical and the modern equivalent would be awake bruxism or diurnal bruxism. It has been shown that the type of research into bruxism has changed over time. Overall between 1966 and 2007, most of the research published was focused on occlusal adjustments and oral splints. Behavioral approaches