Botulinum toxin injection for bruxism associated with brain injury:Case report

摘要

Bruxism is involuntary grinding of the teeth andcan occur as a complication of brain injury. If untreated, bruxismcan lead to severe occlusal trauma. Herein, we present apatient with traumatic brain injury and nocturnal bruxism thatwas treated with botulinum toxin injection. A 21 yr old malepatient with traumatic brain injury from a car accident wasadmitted to our inpatient rehabilitation unit. He had a history ofcoma for 2 wk in the intensive care unit. The initial cranialcomputed tomography scan indicated a superior thalamic hemorrhage.On admission to our department 3 mo postinjury, hismental status was good and he was able to walk without assistance,but he had mild ataxia. He complained about severeteeth grinding at night, which began 2 mo postinjury. BotulinumtoxinA was injected into the masseter muscles (20 U ineach muscle) and temporalis muscles (15 U in each muscle)bilaterally. A decrease in bruxism was reported within 3 d.Clinical improvement persisted at assessment 4 mo posttreatment.Botulinum toxin injection can be used as an effectivetreatment for bruxism associated with brain injury.