Treatment of bruxism with hydroxyzine

A. Ghanizadeh

Research Center for Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Hafez Hospital, Shiraz, Iran. ghanizad@sina.tums.ac.ir

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• Pediatrics

OBJECTIVE: Bruxism or sleep jaw clenching and grinding of the teeth is an unresolved area in dentistry, psychiatry, and medicine. While many therapeutic approaches are introduced, nearly all of them are not effective or some of them are invasive approach. Three children with sleep bruxism treated with hydroxyzine are reported.

STUDY DESIGN: The parents reported the severity of sleep bruxism in their children. All the children used to co-sleep with their parents. Hydroxyzine 10 to 25 mg per night was administered for all of the three patients. They were followed up for one to two months. None of them had any remarkable general medical condition or temporomandibular joint problem.

RESULTS: The parents reported a significant reduction in the score of Visual Analog Scale (VAS) after taking hydroxyzine for one month. Drug adverse effect was not reported or found.

CONCLUSIONS: These reports suggest that hydroxyzine may be effective for the treatment of bruxism in children. It is worthwhile conducting placebo-controlled studies investigating the possible role of hydroxyzine for the treatment of bruxism in children.

 

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