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Enhanced sympathetic cardiac modulation in bruxism patients.

Marthol H, Reich S, Jacke J, Lechner KH, Wichmann M, Hilz MJ

Dept. of Neurology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany. harald.marthol@neuro.imed.uni-erlangen.de

Sleep bruxism, an oral parafunction including teeth clenching and grinding, might be related to increased stress. To evaluate sympathetic cardiac activity in bruxism patients, we monitored cardiac autonomic modulation using spectral analysis of heart rate variability and compared results to those of age-matched healthy volunteers. In bruxism patients, sympathetic cardiac activity was higher than in volunteers. The increased sympathetic tone suggests increased stress and might be related to occlusal disharmonies.

Published 24 July 2006 in Clin Auton Res, 16(4): 276-80.
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