Evaluation of family functioning, parental awareness, life satisfaction, stress levels, and clinical findings in children with sleep bruxism

To evaluate the relationship between sleep bruxism and family functioning, parental awareness, life satisfaction, and stress levels, as well as to examine clinical findings. Eighty-two children aged 8–11 years with sleep bruxism and their parents were included. Intraoral and extraoral examinations were performed. Parental awaneress, family functioning, life satisfaction, and stress levels were assesed by questions or scales. Chi-square tests, Pearson correlation analysis, independent-samples t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and post-hoc tests were used. More than half of the parents (51.2%) reported having knowledge about sleep bruxism, and 35.4% identified psychological factors as its cause. Muscle and temporomandibular joint tenderness on palpation was observed in 13.4% of the children, while 7.3% reported morning jaw muscle pain or fatigue. A total of 54.9% of the parents demonstrated poor family functioning. Children showed high perceived stress, while parents exhibited low-to-moderate stress and moderate life satisfaction. Positive correlations were observed between dental caries and wear and family functioning (p < .05). Children with sleep bruxism were accompanied by elevated stress levels, poor family functioning, and low parental awareness. These findings underscore the importance of integrating psychosocial and clinical approaches in pediatric sleep bruxism management.