Sleep Bruxism and Gastroesophageal Reflux. A Scoping Review.

Abstract

<h4>Objective</h4>To provide a scoping review of the literature by assessing all the English-language papers that investigated the relationship between sleep bruxism (SB) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).<h4>Methods</h4>On September 2025, a systematic search was conducted in the National Library of Medicine (PubMed), Scopus, and Web of Science databases to identify all published articles assessing the relationship between SB and GERD, using various assessment approaches. The selected articles were assessed independently by two authors according to a structured reading of the articles' format (PECO).<h4>Results</h4>Out of 174 references that were initially retrieved, 7 articles met the inclusion criteria and were thus included in the review. The studies were divided into 2 categories based on the type of SB assessment: 1. self-report and clinical assessment (n = 4), and 2. instrumental examination (n = 3). All studies found a positive correlation between SB and GERD.<h4>Conclusion</h4>This review supports a relationship between SB and GERD; however, underlying mechanisms remain unclear due to methodological heterogeneity, limited evidence strength, and variability in assessment methods. Future investigations should adopt standardized assessments for both SB and GERD and more thoroughly examine their relationship with coexisting sleep-related disorders and alterations in sleep architecture.