A Study Comparing Primary and Secondary Sleep Bruxism and their Effect on the Trigeminal Cardiac Reflex

Sleep bruxism is classified as a repetitive jaw-muscle activity characterized by clenching or grinding and/or bracing or thrusting of the mandible during sleep. It has been proposed that sleep disordered breathing is causative regarding sleep bruxism, in a protective roll, assisting in stabilization of the airway during these abnormal breathing events. This paper will attempt to present evidence of two distinct forms of sleep bruxism: primary and secondary. It has been shown that sleep bruxism stimulates the trigeminal cardiac reflex affecting heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and cranial pressure. This paper compares the similarities and differences between primary sleep bruxism (occurring independently), secondary sleep bruxism occurring with sleep disordered breathing and secondary sleep bruxism resulting from administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor type medications. It also examines how they all affect the trigeminal cardiac reflex similarly and meet the most recent classification of trigeminal cardiac stimulation.