What You Should Know About Teeth Grinding!

By admin on January 10, 2022 in Family Dentist

What it is
Teeth grinding, commonly known as bruxism, is the involuntary grinding of teeth, which occurs most often when sleeping

Causes
Discrepancies in occlusion (or bite) could be a cause of bruxism due to interferences in path of teeth. Secondly, stressful circumstances play significant role in teeth grinding. Many people clench and grind their teeth when encountered with a stressful situation. This is why individuals who have demanding or stressful professions are more prone to bruxism. Apart from these, genetic factors, medications, acidic reflux, alcohol and obstructive sleep apnoea could be other causes of bruxism.

Consequences
Teeth grinding may result in pain due to strained muscles and TM joint, clicking sounds while chewing, abnormal tooth wear or fracture.
Due to bruxism, teeth wear out continually leading to sensitivity to cold and hot. Moreover, worn out teeth becomes prone to dental caries.

Treatment
As already discussed, there are various reasons behind Teeth Grinding, therefore, line of treatment depends entirely on the cause, like treating occlusal discrepancies, acidic reflux and obstructive sleep apnoea, quitting alcohol or stress management therapy.

On the hand, if the causes are non-treatable then our dentists at Applebite Dental Coburg focus on minimising the effects of teeth grinding by fabricating occlusal splint (also known as night guard). It is an appliance that sits on teeth and protect teeth from wear due to grinding. Patient need to wear this all over the night. Here at Applebite Dental, in addition to splint fabrication, patient may need restoration of teeth worn out due to bruxism.