Bruxism is what we, in the industry, call tooth grinding and/or clenching. It’s very common with millions of people suffering from the condition across the world. Although the condition can be manageable and not have too many debilitating issues it can cause patients to wear down their teeth, which is why it’s important to get to the bottom of. Here’s all you need to know on bruxism.
Signs you’re grinding
If you’re suffering with bruxism you could be experiencing a number of various symptoms. These include a grinding sound at night, which can even be heard by a partner if you don’t sleep alone. Contradicting jaw muscles, jaw and face muscles that are tight or painful, broken teeth, damaged fillings or gums, headaches, a popping or clicking coming from the jawbone or even minor swelling on the side of the jaw are all signs you could be grinding teeth.
If you are experiencing any symptoms of bruxism then you should be getting in contact with our dentist in Sheffield as soon as you can, this is so one of the team at Sandygate Dental can give you a full check-up and begin to find a solution to the problem.
Why do we grind our teeth?
There are people who think that teeth grinding is just a habit, while other people think it’s got links to anxiety, stress or frustration. There have also been studies that believe it could be linked to a misalignment within the jaw, so an over or underbite. There are some medications that could cause you to clench as a side effect and there have also been links made to Parkinson’s disease.
How to cure teeth grinding
If we think bruxism is the cause of your symptoms there are a few things we can do to help. First and foremost our dentist in Sheffield will look to have made for you a night guard, this will help stop the teeth from meeting and rubbing against each other and causing damage. It’s really important that this step is taken early so as to stop further consequences to the teeth.
Once we have the situation under control our dentist in Sheffield will work with you to detect the cause of the issue. If it appears that you’re under lots of stress and anxiety then we could recommend you see a therapist to begin trying to get to the bottom of your worries.
If upon inspection we see that there is in fact a misalignment with your teeth, then we might recommend undergoing an orthodontic treatment plan to correct your bite. We have lots of patient-friendly, affordable teeth straightening options and would be pleased to help you on that journey too.
If we think it’s a medication or medical condition that’s causing the clenching then we would ask that you book to see your GP to explain the side effects. There could be alternative medication you can take or it could be that for now we just work with the night guard to help protect the teeth and you work with your GP to find a way to relieve other symptoms.