Singapore Bruxism Conversation & Workshop

This unique program is organized by the World Dentofacial Sleep Society (WDSS). The in-depth interactive workshop will be helmed by clinicians and researchers in the field of sleep bruxism and sleep medicine. The definitions, diagnostic tools, and management options surrounding sleep bruxism often differ depending on whether you are a dentist, a sleep physician or a clinical researcher.
 
Is sleep bruxism (SB) an oral sleep-related motor behavior, a sleep-related movement disorder, a parasomnia or a parafunction? The ongoing conversation on terminology illustrates that sleep bruxism is not a single entity. When should this relatively common masticatory muscle behavior be considered for advanced testing? When should interprofessional therapeutic intervention become mandatory?
 
Dentists are often preoccupied with the destructive nature of bruxism whereas most sleep physicians regard SB a normal repetitive motor activity accompanying microarousals in sleep and/or its concomitance with sleep disordered breathing as inconsequential. Clinicians need to be aware when their patients present with ‘secondary’ SB and be able to communicate and collaborate effectively with their sleep physician and sleep psychologist colleagues especially when dealing with comorbidities such as insomnia, chronic headaches, sleep breathing disorders, REM sleep behavior disorder and sleep epilepsy. Sleep disorders are risk factors for SB and need to be assessed.
 
In the research setting or with complex clinical cases, i.e., co-occurring sleep conditions with health risks, the use of diagnostic instrumentation may be needed. The highest standard or gold standard in SB testing is the level 1 PSG (in-laboratory with full montage). The level 1 advanced polysomnographic method is linked to intense scoring. What is the difference in level 2 or 3 SB monitoring (home full or limited montage)? Are today’s emerging diagnostic alternatives, level 4 (one channel or use of indirect assessment signals) and AI powered solutions ready for clinical use? The question remains open.