Is There Any Relationship Between Bruxism and Air-sensitivity?

Introduction: Dentin hypersensitivity is characterized by short, sharp pain arising from exposed dentine in response to stimuli typically thermal, evaporative, tactile, osmotic or chemical and which can't be ascribed to any other form of dental defect or pathology. Many studies have been performed on causes of dentin hypersensitivity. Bruxism can be seen in most of patients with hypersensitive teeth. Few studies have been investigated on the subject

'' Objectives: "In this study we are to evaluate the relationship between bruxism and air sensitivity among dental students of dentistry faculty of Tabriz.

"Methods:" 126 students were examined to evaluate dental hypersensitivity by air indexing method. In 58 of them, who had at least one air sensitive tooth, teeth were checked for any crack, abfractive lesion, facet and attrition; and students were questioned about history of bruxism and other Parafunctional habits. Data was analyzed by EPI6 tests.

"Results:" 64% individuals with dental sensitivity had Bruxism and 26% didn't. Difference was significant indicating dental sensitivity is more common in bruxers. The air sensitive teeth were in 53.59 % of bruxism positive group and in 26.97% bruxism negative group. The difference was significant (p=0.02) which means the sensitivity is more common in individuals with bruxism. Among sensitive teeth in bruxism positive and bruxism negative groups the most common lesion was abfracture indicating the effect of abfraction in producing dental sensitivity. 66.2% of bruxism positive group had abfractive lesions with cold sensitivity and 92.78% of sensitive teeth had abfractive lesions.

"Conclusion:" That shows the very important role of abfractive lesions in sensitive teeth; because abfraction is a sign of active bruxism and according to it's prevalence in sensitive teeth, bruxism can be considered as a very important effective factor in tooth sensitivity.