Association between possible awake bruxism and bullying among 8‐ to 11‐year‐old children/adolescents

Background Bruxism is characterized by tooth grinding and/or clenching. Aim To evaluate the association between possible awake bruxism (PAB) and bullying among individuals aged 8–11 years. Design A representative cross‐sectional study was conducted with 434 eight‐ to eleven‐year‐old children/adolescents. Parents/caregivers answered a questionnaire to provide data on sociodemographic characteristics. Children/adolescents answered a questionnaire about the occurrence of PAB. The Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire was used. The Poisson regression analysis was performed. Results Of the 434 children/adolescents, 209 (48.2%) were boys and 225 (51.8%) were girls. The mean age of the children/adolescents was 9.14 years (±1.00). Children/adolescents who were victims of bullying (PR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.14‐2.04, P = .005) and bullies‐victims (PR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.36‐3.17, P = .001) presented a higher frequency of PAB than those who were not involved in bullying. Conclusion Children/adolescents who were bullying victims and bullies‐victims had a higher frequency of PAB.