Teeth Grinding – You Might Not Be Aware You Are Doing It
Some of us might be damaging our teeth with this habit without even knowing it.
Most of us know fine well that some things we do can end up damaging our teeth. Examples of this might be neglecting to clean our teeth, failing to see a dentist or opening packets with our teeth. Even though we know that this may lead to problems, we are at least conscious that we are doing it and make a choice, one way or the other.
This isn’t always the case though and a number of people damage their teeth without even being aware of it by grinding their teeth together. This can cause various problems that we will take a look at today.
What is teeth grinding?
As the name suggests, this occurs when we grind our teeth against each other. Although some of our Burton patients may have seen cartoons where people ‘gnash’ their teeth together in a state of anger, this is rarely how it happens. In most cases, teeth grinding (or bruxism to give it its correct name) happens while we are asleep. This makes it especially difficult to control.
Why does it happen?
Although it is not known for certain why some people do this, stress seems to be the most likely reason. It is thought that while we may control our stress in other ways while we are awake; during sleep we grind our teeth together as an outlet for the underlying stress in our lives.
What can I do about it?
The most obvious answer to this is to ‘de-stress’ your life. There may be things that you can change that address the root cause of your stress. For example, changing your job if it is causing you anxiety. Changing your life in this way is not always easy though and may take some time to achieve. In the meantime, you can also try techniques such as meditation, yoga and relaxation exercises that might help to ease some of the stress in your life.
Can a dentist help?
One thing that a dentist may be able to do to help prevent damage caused by teeth grinding is by supplying a mouth guard that prevents your teeth from meeting each other while you are asleep. These are not for everyone though and some people do find sleep more difficult while wearing them. They don’t address the underlying issues though and as stress is known to be harmful to your general health too; even if you do wear a mouthguard at night, you should still try to take steps to eliminate, or at least reduce, the stress in your life.
If stress has caused you to grind your teeth together for some time, it is very likely that some damage will have been done. Bruxism is likely to lead to worn and damaged tooth enamel and even breakages may occur as well. Sometimes, very forceful grinding can cause teeth to break quite badly. Naturally, teeth affected in this way will need to be treated to enable you to have functional and attractive teeth again once you have overcome the underlying cause of the problem.
Among the treatments that we offer at SG Dental and Implant Centre that can really help are porcelain veneers, crowns and dental implants. We will evaluate each case very carefully before advising which type of restoration will be most beneficial for you.
Crooked teeth
One thing that can cause teeth to grind together more easily is when they are crooked. This can cause an incorrect bite (malocclusion) and cause teeth to come into contact with each other more forcefully than should be the case. Where this is happening, our team offers a range of orthodontic services to re-position your teeth and help minimise the impact of bruxism. Straighter teeth as also more attractive and often easier to keep clean too.
If you are aware that you grind your teeth, or if there are ‘tell tale’ signs such as worn tooth enamel, we recommend that you make an appointment to see one of our dentists to see how we can help. To make your appointment with us, please call SG Dental and Implant Centre today on 01283 845345.