Teeth grinding is also known as bruxism. It happens without the person knowing that he or she is doing it. Mostly it happens at night, during sleep, but it can also happen during the day, however occurrence of daytime teeth grinding is less common.

The most common cause of this problem at night is stress caused during the day. When people are burdened by worries and problems, the jaws tend to clench and the grinding starts. A lot of times grinding is also a result of bad dreams. There are other causes but these are the most common.

The momentary problems that might occur because of bruxism are muscle ache, toothache (grinding destroys enamel protecting your teeth), headaches, and constant tiredness. The most lasting effect however is the damage done to your teeth. Slowly over time if not treated, this condition will first destroy the enamel on your teeth and then the teeth themselves. As a result of this one can also become extremely susceptible to hot and cold foods or drinks.

To relieve the effects of bruxism, there are a couple of things you can do. One is to buy and use a night guard. This is a device that covers your teeth and protects them so that the grinding doesn’t affect them (it’s very much like those teeth guards boxers use). Another approach you can take is to employ certain lifestyle changes such as doing certain exercises before bed that will reduce your tendency to grind your teeth.

To stop grinding teeth at night one can also do the following: visit your dentist and have him or her make a proper diagnosis. Alter your lifestyle to include exercise, balanced diet, meditation before bed (basically these are all stress control methods). Use combination of these methods to protect your teeth and stop grinding.

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