Abstract
Background: Teeth bruxism and clenching are important parafunctional habits that have a high
prevalence and can cause serious physical and mental complications. Its etiology, however, remains a
challenging issue. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between
occlusal parameters and bruxism in 3- to 6-year-old children.
Methods: This study was conducted in a 3- to 6-year-old preschool children in Hamadan selected by
random sampling. To do this, a questionnaire containing 6 standard and comprehensive questions was
completed by parents. According to the data from the questionnaires, the children were divided into
bruxers and nonbruxers (control). In the intra-oral clinical examination, the presence of facet, cross
bite in the anterior or posterior, excessive overjet, open bite, deep bite and the type of dental occlusion
on both sides were recorded. The statistical tests used were Spearman correlation coefficient and chisquared test in SPSS 23.
Results: The findings showed that the prevalence of bruxism was 72% in the studied population. The
most observable occlusions were flash terminal and mesial step on both sides. There was no significant
relationship between bruxism and dental facet and the correlation of age and sex with bruxism was
weak. There was no statistically significant relationship between the occlusal parameters, except for
overbite, and bruxism.
Conclusions: The results showed that among occlusal factors, only normal overbite and openbite were
significantly associated with bruxism