Teeth Grinding

Posted on 1 Nov 2008 - by Katkat In: healthy living

Bruxism aka teeth grinding is a destructive action caused by stress, lack of sleep, anxiety, etc. One can do it unconsciously awake or when asleep. It can be from a mild clenching of the jaw to a severe grinding of the teeth.

I’ve always known that I’m a bruxist. I will wake up with a sore jaw. And aside from my snoring, my sister claims that she hears me grinding my teeth. Just recently my boss has revealed to me that I have shiny spots on my amalgam/silver fillings. It is indicative of grinding. He prescribed me a mouthguard which I declined. Some people will show wear on the occlusal surface of their teeth – the cusps are flattened, the incisal edges of the incisors are trimmed. Generalized teeth sensitivity is also experienced.

So what can be the repercussions of a untreated bruxism?

Decrease in the occlusal height of the the teeth – which is hard to reconstruct if you want to get it back to its original height. I’ve seen a patient whose teeth were too short because of excessive teeth grinding. My boss can’t just crown all his teeth to increase the height of the teeth because the patient will just grind it away.
Decrease in vertical height of the face – the proportion of the mouth area will be smaller than the other proportions of the face.
TMJ problems – clenching and grinding can wear away the articular disc of the jaw causing it to become thin and resulting to almost bone to bone friction instead of ligament to bone contact.
Chronic headache

How do we treat bruxism?

Mouthguard – simplest and noninvasive way of treating bruxism. It is a hard acrylic splint that covers the occlusal surfaces of the upper teeth. It protects the teeth and re-train the nerves and muscles of the jaws from grinding.
Botox – it weakens or relaxes the muscles of the jaws from clenching or grinding.
Avoid stress and enjoy a restful sleep.