Introduction:

Sleep bruxism (SB) is an activity of the masticatory muscle during sleep that could be rhythmic or non-rhythmic. Also, SB should not be considered a sleep or movement disorder by itself.

Objective:

To review information from studies related to risk factors of sleep bruxism in children aged 3 to 12 years old.

Methods:

The search for literature was performed in the following electronic databases: PubMed, Ebsco, Web of Science and Scielo. The terms “children”, “pre-school”, “bruxism”, “risk factors”, and “sleep bruxism” were used to search.

The selection criteria included articles published from 2009 to 2020 in English and Spanish languages. Cross-sectional studies, cohort studies, case controls and randomized clinical trials which reported risk factors related to sleep bruxism in children aged 3 to 12 years-old were included. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts. Then, abstracts considered relevant were scheduled for full-text review. In this review, there was no discrepancias between the two reviewers. Results: After applying the inclusion criteria, twenty-two articles were included.

Among selected articles, there were no association between age and SB in children.

Conclusions:

According to the available information, genetics, male gender, anxiety, psychological and emotional disorders, chronotype sleep profiles, oral habits, characteristics and/or sleep problems; and respiratory difficulties are considered as risk factors related to sleep bruxism in children aged 3 to 12 years old. However, the association with malocclusions needs further studies.