Teeth Grinding

Types Of Teeth Grinding

There are two types of teeth grinding depending on when it occurs.

Sleep bruxism

It involves teeth grinding or clenching during sleep. Sleep bruxism is similar to the chewing function but without food which causes severe tension on the masticatory muscles. This causes destructive effects on the teeth as you are unaware and cannot control it during sleep.

Awake bruxism

Awake bruxism is teeth clenching or pressing against your teeth while awake (without a masticatory pattern) because of stress or high concentration on something. This can be easily controlled as you are aware of it happening which can cause less damage to your teeth.

Suspect Teeth Grinding If You Experience

• Morning headache
• Facial muscle pain

• Pain in TMJ during opening and closing your mouth
• Ear and neck pain

• Toothache after waking up
• Generalised teeth sensitivity

• Multiple teeth cracks and fractures
• Sleep disturbances

Causes Of Teeth Grinding

The main reason behind teeth grinding is stress. Teeth grinding is considered a body cooping behavior with anxiety and stress. However, several conditions may also lead to teeth grinding, such as:

1. Sleep disorders: Sleep disorders such as snoring and sleep apnea were found to be associated with teeth grinding. Resolving the sleep disorders will terminate the teeth grinding without further treatments.
2. Lifestyle habits: bruxism was strongly related to some lifestyle habits such as heavy smoking, alcohol consumption, drug abuse, and high caffeine consumption.
3. Malocclusion and teeth malalignment: improper teeth contact due to crooked teeth or improper restorations may trigger teeth grinding.
4. Some medications: teeth grinding can be a secondary effect to certain medications, such as certain anti-anxiety drugs and some medicines used to treat ADHD.

Effects Of Teeth Grinding

• Wear of the protective enamel layer, leading to teeth sensitivity.
• Teeth mobility
• Teeth cracks and fractures
• Gum inflammation and recession
• Tension headaches
• Facial muscle pain
• TMJ disorders expressed as a mouth-opening limitation
• Earache and shoulder stiffness
• Sleep disorders

Teeth Grinding in Children

Teeth grinding is common in children; however, it is not of great concern in children as it is in adults because the jaws are growing, and primary teeth will shed.

Teeth grinding in children may be caused by emotional stress, pain during teeth eruption, or teeth malocclusion.

Generally, no treatment is required for teeth grinding in children. If you are concerned about your child’s teeth-grinding habit, consult our dental experts for a full examination.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Teeth Grinding

During your visit, our dental experts will examine your teeth to look for signs of teeth grinding, such as tooth erosion, flattening of the grinding surface of molar teeth, muscle tenderness, and TMJ problems.

The existence of one or more of these signs is sufficient to confirm that you are a bruxer. However, some cases may require additional diagnostic techniques, such as conducting a sleep study to monitor sleep behavior and patterns.

The treatment of teeth grinding is divided into two main parts: the treatment of the root cause of bruxism to prevent further damage and the management of the teeth grinding problems.

Treatment of the root cause is the main challenge. Depending on the reason behind teeth grinding, the management may include:

• Following stress-relieving activities such as yoga and meditation to relieve stress.
• Consulting a therapist regarding stress relieving techniques such as deep breathing exercises.
• If teeth clenching is caused by a sleep disorder, handling the disorder is efficient for solving teeth-grinding.
• If you are on certain medications that may be causing teeth grinding, contact your healthcare provider about shifting to other alternatives.
• Reduce caffeine consumption and drop alcohol and tobacco consumption.
• Treatment of crooked and misaligned teeth.

Rarely your healthcare provider may prescribe certain medications such as muscle relaxants and antidepressants to decrease your stress level.

The prevention of further damage can be offered through the construction of a night guard. A nightguard is a device constructed from special plastic material used during sleep to act as a barrier between teeth and prevent contact during sleep.

Dulwich Dental Office offers top-rated customised nightguards. Customised nightguards are constructed based on an impression of your teeth, which makes them more comfortable and retentive.

After addressing the main cause of teeth grinding and making sure no further damage may occur, comes the step of the management of the damage that already occurred. The damage caused by teeth grinding may be either teeth or periodontal problems.

Teeth problems include the wear-off of the enamel layer and teeth sensitivity due to the exposure of the underlying dentine. The restoration of the lost enamel layer may be performed through dental bonding, veneers, or the full coverage of the tooth using dental crowns.

Periodontal problems, expressed as gum inflammation, recession, and teeth loosening, may be handled through professional teeth cleaning and gum therapy t o resolve the inflammation. The lost gum and bone can be restored using gum and/or bone graft surgery to restore the teeth-supporting structures and resolve the loosening.

Prevention Of Teeth Grinding

Teeth grinding can be reduced or even prevented by following some lifestyle changes, such as:

• Reduce stress by practicing stress-relieving techniques such as yoga or meditation can reduce stress and improve teeth grinding.
• Decrease your caffeine and alcohol consumption, especially before sleep.
• Cutting off smoking.
• Create a comforting sleeping environment to prevent sleep disorders.
• Schedule regular check-ups is essential to prevent considerable damage to your teeth by bruxism. During check-up visits, our dental experts can identify early signs of teeth grinding and provide suitable preventive solutions, such as nightguards.