Homeopathic medicine of Melissa officinalis combined or not with Phytolacca decandra in the treatment of possible sleep bruxism in children: A crossover randomized triple-blinded controlled clinical trial

Abstract

PurposeThe present randomized controlled clinical trial evaluated the efficacy of homeopathic medicines of Melissa officinalis (MO), Phytolacca decandra (PD), and the combination of both in the treatment of possible sleep bruxism (SB) in children. Study designPatients (n = 52) (6.62 ± 1.79 years old) were selected based on the parents report of SB. The study comprised a crossover design that included 4 phases of 30-day treatment (Placebo; MO 12c; PD 12c; and MO 12c + PD 12c), with a wash-out period of 15 days between treatments. MethodsAt baseline and after each phase, the Visual Analogic Scale (VAS) was used as the primary outcome measure to evaluate the influence of treatments on the reduction of SB. The following additional outcome measures were used: a children's sleep diary with parent's/guardian's perceptions of their children's sleep quality, the trait of anxiety scale (TAS) to identify changes in children's anxiety profile, and side effects reports. Data were analyzed by ANOVA with repeated measures followed by Post Hoc LSD test. ResultsSignificant reduction of SB was observed in VAS after the use of Placebo (−1.72 ± 0.29), MO (−2.36 ± 0.36), PD (−1.44 ± 0.28) and MO + PD (−2.21 ± 0.30) compared to baseline (4.91 ± 1.87). MO showed better results compared to PD (p = 0.018) and Placebo (p = 0.050), and similar result compared to MO+PD (p = 0.724). The sleep diary results and TAS results were not influenced by any of the treatments. No side effects were observed after treatments. ConclusionMO showed promising results in the treatment of possible sleep bruxism in children, while the association of PD did not improve MO results.