Dissertations - 2011

CHILDHOOD BRUXISM: AN INTERFACE BETWEEN ODONTOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY

Selma A.K. Axelrud

Advisor: Profa. Dra. Denise Gimenez Ramos
Key Words: bruxism; anxiety; psychosomatics; Jung.

Bruxism is a parafunctional habit that consists of jaw clenching and tooth grashing or grinding. It is largely found among children .

This essay aims to analise 13 children´s personalities, aged 06 to 10 years, with bruxism symptoms.The subjects were submitted to psychological tests, while their parents answered to a few questions about their children´s behavior. The results were categorised, according to some psychological aspects, and were interpreted according to Analytical Psychology theory. It was possible to observe that these children are under a cronic state of anxiety feelings, caused by deeply unsolved parental complexes.