What Causes Tooth Grinding At Night
What Is Bruxism And What Causes Teeth Grinding In Sleep At Night?
Bruxism is the medical term that is used to refer to the habit of grinding and clenching that abrades teeth and can cause jaw pain, tense muscles and headaches. It often occurs during sleep and may even occur during short naps or during the day. Statistics show that it is one of the most common sleep disorders with over 30 million Americans reported to grind their teeth during sleep. People who grind their teeth are sometimes referred to as bruxers.
In addition to grinding their teeth, some bruxers may also bite their fingernails and chew the inside of their cheek. Very often, people usually aren’t diagnosed with it until it is too late because so many people don’t realize they have the habit. The effects may be quite advanced before sufferers become aware of the problem.
Can bruxism cause harm?
Although Bruxism is not considered a dangerous disorder it can cause other problems. People with otherwise healthy teeth and gums can clench so often and so hard that they may end up damaging their teeth over time. They may experience facial pain, jaw pain, headaches and tense muscles in addition to the excessive wear on their teeth. In extreme cases, the forceful biting when not eating may cause the jaw to move out of proper balance. Other literature says that it may lead to decayed, sensitive, worn-out, fractured, loose, or missing teeth.
What are the signs and symptoms?
One of the most common signs of bruxism is a flat look on the tips of the sufferer’s teeth. The teeth may become so worn down that the enamel is rubbed off and the inside of the tooth, called dentin, is exposed. When exposed, dentin may become very sensitive. They may experience pain in their temporomandibular joint (TMJ), the jaw. Other symptoms include: abraded teeth, sore or painful jaw, oversensitive teeth, headaches, Earaches, anxiety, stress, and tension as well as insomnia, depression, eating disorders and tongue indentations.
Certain personality types and daily stress and are at the root of bruxism. Also bruxism tends to affect people with nervous tension. Things such as anger, pain and frustration have been known to trigger bruxing. If you’re aggressive, competitive and hurried you may be at a greater risk for bruxism.
Remedies and Treatments – What can be done about it?
Bruxism sufferers may find that relaxation techniques and certain meditation may help to reduce teeth grinding. Many dentists automatically check for physical signs of bruxism during regularly dental visits. The main goal of treatment is to reduce pain, prevent permanent damage to teeth, and modify clenching behaviors by getting the bruxer to change behavior thorough learning how to rest the tongue, teeth and lips properly. When some sufferers become aware of their teeth grinding problem, simply advising them to change their behavior may be enough to get rid of the problem. Grinding which is due to stress can be cured by removing the stress trigger. These people may be advised to try to reduce their daily stress and learn relaxation techniques. Sometimes the dentist may recommend a plastic mouth appliance, such as a night guard, that’s worn to absorb the force of biting. This appliance can prevent future damage to the teeth and help change the patient’s destructive behavior.
Author: Katie Johnson
Click here for a comprehensive list of websites where you can find out about cures and treatments for Teeth Grinding (Bruxism) and TMJ: http://www.abouthealthtips.com/bruxism/ Online. Discover all-natural methods for eliminating Bruxism and TMJ permanently without using Medicines, Dental Implant, Surgery or Devices such as Teeth Grinding Mouth Guards. Katie Johnson: http://www.abouthealthtips.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Katie_Johnson
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