What a Dentist Can do for Tooth Grinding

Sore jaws, headaches, and loved ones’ interrupted sleep are symptoms of bruxism (also known as teeth grinding), but a dentist can help with this. Most people grind their teeth occasionally when stressed or anxious, but bruxism can become a problem if it happens often. Regularly grinding your teeth can cause long-term problems. Many people grind their teeth mostly at night and don’t realize they do, but there are some signs and symptoms you can be on the lookout for.

This article will outline the symptoms of bruxism, the causes, and how your dentist can help you control your teeth grinding.

Symptoms of bruxism

You may grind your teeth while you are awake or asleep. Teeth grinding is a contraction of your jaw muscles that happens unconsciously. Since it is an unconscious act, people are not usually aware of it until they begin experiencing painful side effects.

Some symptoms of teeth grinding you may experience:

• Dull headaches near your temples
• Pain in your jaw or face
• Stiffness in your neck and shoulders
• Tired, tight, or locked jaw
• Earaches
• Pain or sensitivity in your teeth and gums
• Worn down tooth enamel
• Flattened, chipped, or cracked teeth
• Sores from chewing on the inside of your cheeks
• Disrupted sleep, and the disruption of your sleeping partner’s sleep because of the sound of your teeth grinding

Tooth grinding causes

Teeth grinding is typically an unconscious behavior. If you have awake bruxism, you may grind your teeth when you are stressed or emotional, while concentrating on a task, or when doing physical tasks such as lifting heavy objects.

Sleep teeth grinding is more common than awake bruxism. It is often your body’s unconscious reaction to stress or anxiety you experienced during the day while you were awake. Smoking and consuming large amounts of alcohol or caffeine can also cause sleep bruxism. Sleep disorders can also cause sleep bruxism. For example, if you have sleep apnea or snoring issues, you are more likely to grind your teeth at night.

A family history of bruxism, some psychiatric medications, more aggressive or hyperactive personality traits, ADHD, dementia, epilepsy, and gastrointestinal reflux disorder can all make teeth grinding more likely.

What can a dentist do about bruxism?

Talk to your dentist about bruxism if you suspect you might have bruxism. Your dentist can determine if you have bruxism, along with its cause. If you grind your teeth at night, your dentist can make you a custom-fit mouth guard to wear at night that will provide some cushion between your upper and lower teeth.

Your dentist may also recommend that you reduce your consumption of alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco. It would be best to avoid chewing anything except food (including not chewing gum). Your dentist will also be able to take measures to repair damage to your teeth that has already occurred from grinding your teeth.