Bruxism- is botulinum toxin an effective treatment?

Data sourcesPubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane, Scielo and Lilacs databases were searched from 1980 to March 2016. Literature reviews were explored in order to retrieve any other relevant papers.Study selectionRandomised controlled studies (RCTs), prospective and before and after studies that applied botulinum toxin (BoNT-A) to the masseter and/or temporalis muscles assessing objective and subjective parameters of bruxism published in English were included.Data extraction and synthesisThree reviewers independently assessed for eligibility. Disagreement was solved by discussion and when reaching consensus between at least two. Standard data items were extracted. Quality assessment was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias tool and the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) tool. Before-After Study Checklist was used for the nonrandomised studies. Results were presented as a narrative review.ResultsFive studies were included in the review, of those three were RCTs and two before and after. A total of 188 subjects were included. Regimen was unique in each study and the follow-up ranged from two to 24 weeks. The risk of bias of the RCTs was assessed as low to unclear, while the before and after studies were assessed as of moderate risk of bias.ConclusionsThe authors concluded that botulinum toxin represents a possible option for the management of sleep bruxism (SB), minimising symptoms and reducing the intensity of contractions rather than for SB itself.