Do you ever wake up from a night's sleep with jaw pain? It is likely that you will cringe during the night. Although this can happen to everyone sporadically, some people develop a stress response that causes a continuous grinding of teeth, which becomes problematic.
What is bruxism?
Bruxism is the action of contracting the muscles of chewing outside feeding times. In the majority of cases, this results in the grinding of the teeth during sleep, which is an indicator of stress or anxiety in the person. When this nocturnal grinding becomes frequent, it is important to contact your dentist, since chronic bruxism can severely damage your teeth.
What are the causes of bruxism?
Bruxism is very often related to anxiety. People with this condition often have very busy and stressful lives. Grinding is a subconscious way of relieving the stress accumulated during the day. Untreated sleep apnea can is often accompanied by bruxism. Taking certain medications can also cause bruxism.
Children can also be caught have bruxism, but the consequences of it are less important since the condition is mostly temporary. In general, bruxism will be associated with stress or a temporary psychological shock.
What are the symptoms of bruxism?
Although bouts of bruxism are mostly present during the night, they can also be during the day when the person is awake. Some people cringe without realizing it when stressed, but it is a condition that is much less common and much easier to treat. When the person is aware of his actions, it is much easier to correct them by doing relaxation exercises.
On the other hand, night bruxism can become very unpleasant. Since the person is not conscious, she can cringe until making loud noises that will disturb her spouse! In the case where there is no movement back and forth making noise but there is a clenching of the jaw, the person will tend to wake up with big headaches.
What are the consequences of bruxism?
There are several consequences for this unpleasant condition: there may be consequences in the joints or teeth.
In the case of the joints, it is the ATM mandibular joints (articulation between the skull and the mandible) that will hurt and which in turn will cause headaches and migraines. In the case of teeth, they will be damaged due to continuous friction. Over time, they will become sensitive to hot and cold, and in extreme cases, the person will have difficulty chewing since the teeth will no longer have enamel and will no longer be effective.
What are the treatments to counter bruxism?
There are no treatments against bruxism. On the other hand, there are treatments to help counter the behaviors or conditions that cause this effect.
In cases where bruxism is caused by stress or anxiety, the patient may be advised to start therapy with a psychologist. If bruxism is caused by an imbalance in the mandibular level, a dentist can make proposals regarding the treatments to be undertaken to resolve the imbalance.
A dentist can always choose to recommend the use of a protective gutter overnight. This will help relax the jaw muscles and protect the contact teeth between them. In cases of very important bruxism, a dental professional might consider the use of gutters to rebuild teeth that have been too heavily worn.
If you recognize yourself through these symptoms and you think you have a bruxism problem at night, contact our clinic, it will be our pleasure to answer your questions!
Approved by Dre Charouk
Dr. Joumana Charouk, D.M.D, is proud to offer her patients exceptional care that combines experience, efficiency and good humor.
Dre Joumana Charouk, D.M.D