Do you reguarly experience morning headaches? Do you usually wake up with a sore jaw? Did your spouse, partner or parents complaints of hearing sound of you teeth grinding or clenching your jaw at night?
Teeth Grinding is a common activity which is done by many people from time to time but done reguarly can negatively affect the oral health if left unaddressed. In medical terms it is called Bruxism. Glossary of Prosthodontic Terms (GPT-8) [4] defines bruxism as parafunctional grinding of teeth or an oral habit consisting of involuntary rhythmic or spasmodic non functional gnashing, grinding or clenching of teeth in other than chewing movements of the mandible which may lead to occlusal trauma. It is of 2 types, Awake bruxism or Diurnal bruxism that is done during the daytime commonly doing a semivoluntary clenching activity and other is Sleep bruxism, occuring during the sleep, characterized as teeth grinding and/ or clenching.
According to the studies, Awake bruxism is more common in females as compared to males but Sleep bruxism has no gendre predilection.
Why do I grind my teeth?
The etiology of sleep bruxism is not completely understood but has several contributing factors. The contributing factors could be increased stress, anger, frustrations, perfectionist personalities etc, while for others increased consumption of caffeine, alcohol or recreational drugs, tobacco or medicaments like anti-depressants could contribute to the grinding habit.For others, sleep apnea, a serious sleep disorder that results in interrupted breathing throughout the night could be associated to the clenching or grinding teeth at night.
How does Teeth grinding af ects the oral health?
Chronic teeth grinding leads to the wearing off of your enamel resulting in increased teeth sensitivity, discolouration and more prone to the cavities. Also, continued habit could result in severe crown loss to the point that patients would need crowns or root canal treatment to relieve from the teeth sensitivity complaint. Moreover, chipping of enamel or fracture of the teeth, along with jaw pain are also frequent findings.
How do we treat Teeth Grinding?
At Galerie Dentaire Soleil, our first approach is to identify the underlying cause. If the main principal cause is stress and anxiety, we recommend to get the professional treatment. Also, if the causing factor is sleep apnea, we may prescribe an oral appliance that patients need to wear at night to improve sleep quality. Until the underlying cause of bruxism is identified, a custom- fitted nightguard could also help the patients from future deteriorating their teeth.