What Is Bruxism?
Bruxism is clenching, grinding, or gnashing your teeth, either while you’re awake or asleep.
Most people probably grind and clench their teeth from time to time. Occasional teeth grinding doesn’t usually cause harm, but when it happens regularly, you can damage your teeth. Bruxism can lead to other health problems, too.
Types of Bruxism
There are two types of bruxism.
If you’re clenching your teeth while awake, that’s called awake, or diurnal, bruxism.
If you’re grinding your teeth while sleeping, that called sleep, or nocturnal, bruxism.
Researchers think these two types may have separate causes.
Health-care professionals sometimes refer to “primary” and “secondary” bruxism. If you have primary bruxism, it’s not related to any other medical condition. Secondary bruxism is linked to some other medical issue, such as a neurological problem. It can also be a side effect of some drugs.
Causes of Teeth Grinding
If you grind your teeth while you’re awake, it’s probably linked to stress or anxiety in your daily life. You might also do it when you’re concentrating hard.
Grinding your teeth while asleep is considered a “sleep related movement disorder.” It starts as a problem in your central nervous system.
Lifestyle and medical factors can play a role in bruxism. They include:
- High caffeine intake, the equivalent of more than six cups of coffee each day
- Alcohol use
- Smoking
- Using recreational drugs
- Taking certain prescription drugs, including selective serontonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
- Family history of teeth grinding
Symptoms of Teeth Grinding
Because grinding often occurs during sleep, most people are unaware that they do it. You might learn you grind your teeth from a loved one who hears the grinding at night.
Symptoms of bruxism can include:
- Flattened, chipped, or loose teeth
- Worn tooth enamel
- Tooth pain or sensitivity
- Tight jaw muscles
- Your jaw won’t open or close completely
- Pain in your jaw, face, or neck
- Pain that feels like an earache
- Dull headache in your temples
- Chewing the inside of your cheek
- Pain when you eat
Effects of Teeth Grinding
In some cases, chronic teeth grinding can result in a fracturing, loosening, or loss of teeth. The chronic grinding may wear teeth down to stumps. When these events happen, bridges, crowns, root canals, implants, partial dentures, and even complete dentures may be needed.
Not only can severe grinding damage teeth and result in tooth loss, but it can also affect your jaws, cause or worsen TMD/TMJ, and even change the appearance of your face.
Teeth Grinding Treatment
The first step to dealing with bruxism is identifying the cause. Your doctor or dentist will ask questions about your lifestyle, medications, and sleep habits. That will help determine your treatment.
Mouth guards for teeth grinding. Your dentist can fit you with a mouth guard to protect your teeth from grinding during sleep. Most are made out of plastic. If you have a latex allergy, be sure to let your dentist know.
Dental correction: Dentists sometimes try to treat bruxism by changing the way your teeth fit together, for instance, grinding down certain teeth. But there’s no evidence that this approach works. If your bite is off, meaning your top and bottom teeth don’t align when you close your mouth, your dentist might suggest braces. This problem is called malocclusion. Braces will fix malocclusion, but it’s not clear that they help bruxism.
Stress reduction. If stress is causing you to grind your teeth, ask your doctor or dentist about options to reduce your stress. Attending stress counseling, starting an exercise program, seeing a physical therapist, or obtaining a prescription for muscle relaxants are some of your options.
Sleep hygiene. This is what medical professionals call setting the stage for a restful night’s sleep. It includes keeping your bedroom quiet and dark and avoiding physical activities or things that might stimulate you mentally and keep you awake. Good sleep hygiene helps your overall health, though the research on whether it helps bruxism isn’t clear.
Botox for teeth grinding. Injections of this toxin are used for a number of medical conditions. It inhibits muscle movement. Research has found that injections into the muscles involved in chewing ease symptoms of bruxism.
How to Stop Grinding Your Teeth Naturally
Lifestyle changes can help with bruxism. These include:
- Avoid or cut back on foods and drinks that contain caffeine, such as colas, chocolate, and coffee.
- Avoid alcohol. Grinding tends to intensify after alcohol consumption.
- Do not chew on pencils or pens or anything that is not food. Avoid chewing gum as it allows your jaw muscles to get more used to clenching and makes you more likely to grind your teeth.
- Train yourself not to clench or grind your teeth. If you notice that you clench or grind during the day, position the tip of your tongue between your teeth. This practice trains your jaw muscles to relax.
- Relax your jaw muscles at night by holding a warm washcloth against your cheek in front of your earlobe.
Credit: webmd
