Teeth Grinding Treatment

The most common causes of teeth grinding are stress and anxiety. As the stress levels rise, teeth grinding becomes worse because it has become a way for people to release their tension. Other causes include misaligned teeth or sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), where you’re not getting enough restful hours due to breathing problems while sleeping, leading to many other health issues, including depression. Other factors include drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes regularly, and drinking coffee frequently.

Children, on the other hand, grind their teeth due to the following:

• Allergies
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Misaligned teeth
• Irritation of the mouth
• Hereditary conditions

Grinding your teeth at night is a common problem that many people don’t know they have. One of the apparent symptoms of bruxism is the production of unpleasant sounds like scraping and grinding.

Other indicators that you may have bruxism include:

• Sleep disruption
• Facial pain or headaches when you wake up in the morning
• Loose or painful teeth
• Muscle pain in the jaw
• Fractured teeth
• Chipped teeth
• Cracked teeth
• Worn-down teeth, exposing deeper layers of your teeth
• Hypersensitive teeth
• Earaches
• Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) disorders, characterized by clicking or popping in the jaw
• Locked jaw
• Bleeding on the gums or inside of the cheek

Teeth grinding can cause the following issues and negative effects:

• Headaches
• Toothaches
• Facial pain
• Ear pain
• Jaw pain
• Teeth wearing down and flattening
• Loose teeth
• Fractured, cracked, or damaged teeth
• Damage to fillings and crowns

If teeth grinding is left untreated for an extended period of time, it can lead to problems. Here are a few examples:

• Chronic earache and headache
• Changes in your appearance and your facial profile or facial muscle enlargement
• Tooth-damaging conditions that require dental restoration procedures, such as dental bonding, fillings, crowns, or bridges
• Put a strain on your jaw and neck muscles, as well as your TMJ
• Difficulty chewing, speaking, and swallowing

Here are some recommendations to prevent teeth grinding:

• Cigarettes, recreational drugs, and alcohol should be avoided because they can make you grind your teeth while you sleep.
• At least twice a year, you should visit your dentist regularly. Seeing a dentist as soon as possible is the best way to stop teeth grinding.
• Other dental issues, such as missing, crooked, or misaligned teeth, should also be treated.