Functional analysis and treatment of diurnal bruxism.

Lang et al. (2013) worked with a preschooler who ground his teeth during the day. The team first ran a 10-minute functional analysis to see why the grinding happened.

The test showed the child grinded to get adult attention. The therapists then taught the boy to tap an adult’s arm and say "play" instead of grinding. They praised each new mand and withheld attention for grinding.

Bruxing dropped to zero within a few sessions. The new "play" mands rose and stayed high. Three weeks later the teeth were still quiet and the child still asked for attention with words.

Armstrong et al. (2014) also studied daytime teeth-grinding, but their teen’s grinding was automatic, not attention-based. A simple "stop" reprimand worked for her. Together the two papers show a quick FA can steer you to the right fix: teach a mand when attention is the fuel, use brief extinction when the behavior is self-stimulatory.

TWCosta et al. (2017) and Lancioni et al. (2009) used self-management to curb other mouth issues (drooling). Their success matches Russell’s theme: short outpatient ABA packages can tame oral problems without medication or bulky equipment.

Gerow et al. (2019) cut automatic stereotypy with parent-led differential reinforcement plus blocking. The plan differs from FCT, but all four studies agree—find the function, then pick the smallest tool that does the job.

You can copy this whole sequence in one clinic afternoon: 10-minute FA, pick the function, teach one clear mand, reinforce it heavily, and ignore the grinding. Parents learn the plan quickly and the skill keeps after you leave. Try it the next time a little client’s jaw is working overtime.