Teeth grinding (more commonly known as bruxism) usually occurs during the night when asleep, causing the top and bottom teeth wear against each other. It is usually unnoticed until in the morning or if asleep partner notices grinding sounds keeping them awake during the night.

People tend to grind their teeth if they have stress in their life. This could be as a result of money, work or relationship problems. Other causes can include:

• Poor diet
• Sleep disorders (sleep apnoea)
• Breathing difficulty
• Smoking
• Drugs/alcohol

Effects of Grinding Teeth

Being an unknown condition, people are likely to notice the effects of clench when they wake up of the morning. Some more noticeable effects include:

• Headaches
• Teeth become painful
• Sensitive teeth – especially to cold and hot foods.
• Pain in the face
• Broken dental fillings
• Sleep disruption

If you are noticing any pain after a night’s sleep, it is very important that you visit the dentist as soon as possible, as early treatment can prevent further damage or pain from occurring.

Treatment Options

Without knowing the direct effect, it is often hard to work out which treatment option is best for the situation. Some general options include:

• Counselling – this can help to reduce the stress in your life allowing for a better night’s sleep
• Relaxation techniques – meditation before going to bed can help to calm the body down before sleeping
• Reduce caffeine consumption – this includes cutting back on foods and drinks that contain caffeine

Here at Crown Dental Group, we offer grinding splints as an effective treatment option for teeth grinding at night.

A grinding splint is a custom-fitted mouthguard that is created out of durable dental acrylic. It works by covering the biting surfaces of the upper teeth. It is important to note that a grinding splint won’t fully stop teeth grinding. What it does is relieves some of the pain and pressure from the jaw joint by guiding the jaw into a natural position allowing for uninterrupted night sleep.

Teeth Grinding at Crown Dental Group

If you are noticing wearing occurring to your teeth or frequent jaw pain, this could be a sign of teeth grinding. It is important to contact us so we can arrange a time to see you and solve this problem before it becomes much worse.