BRUXISM AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH SOCIO-AFFECTIVE ASPECTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Bruxism is the habit of clenching or grinding teeth, being part of the lives of many Brazilians, of both sexes and at different ages. This disorder can be daytime and nighttime and the most common clinical sign is wear of the incisal surfaces of the anterior teeth and occlusal surfaces of the posterior teeth. Its origin is multifactorial, and may be associated with several etiological factors, such as psychological, due to the experiences of stress, anxiety and depression. Treatments vary according to the patient, requiring multidisciplinary actions, in addition to the dental surgeon, who is highly sought after for his treatment. The objective of this literature review was to verify whether there was an increase in bruxism and teeth clenching during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the levels of stress, anxiety, worry, fear, grief, and depression in people as a result of the social isolation imposed by the World Health Organization and other shocks arising from the pandemic situation. The bibliographic search was carried out in the VHL, BVS-Psi, PUBMED and SciELO databases using the descriptors "bruxism", "bruxism in the pandemic", "bruxism and COVID-19", for full texts, in Portuguese, English and Spanish, with publications between December 2019 and December 2022. Reports of dental surgeons who attended many cases of bruxism during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the high level of emotional stress of patients were found reporting fear, grief, pressure of social isolation and worry. Thus, studies show a significant increase in parafunctional activity and poor sleep quality, under the association between stress and anxiety caused by the pandemic.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2024.034-001