Characterization of 86 bruxing patients with long-term study of their management with occlusal devices and other forms of therapy.

Of 353 patients screened, 86 answered positively to questions designed to identify bruxers. The bruxing patient profile revealed that 100% had working excursive interferences, 78% had balancing excursive interferences, and 95.4% had a premature contact into maximum intercuspation. Most of the bruxing patients had a chief complaint that related to pain, and 89.6% of the patients had a craniomandibular disorder. The patients were initially managed with an anterior deprogrammer and were later managed with other occlusal devices as signs and symptoms dictated. Definitive treatment was determined by the patient's maxillomandibular relationship.