Did you know that 10% of people grind their teeth at night? And most of them don’t even know they’re doing it.
Teeth grinding at night is a real condition called bruxism. Though it’s generally not very serious, it can be harmful if it becomes too regular. It can damage your teeth, including artificial teeth like dental implants.
For example, chronic teeth grinding can fracture and loosen your teeth, sometimes even leading to tooth loss.
Causes of Teeth Grinding
So what causes teeth grinding?
In 70% of cases, teeth grinding is a result of stress or anxiety. Other times, it’s due to an abnormal bite or missing or crooked teeth.
Risk factors for teeth grinding include age, stress levels, and personality type. For example, people are more likely to grind their teeth when they are younger. And people prone to aggression or anger are more susceptible to grinding their teeth as well.
Other risk factors include genetics, side effects from medication, and other related disorders like sleep apnea, ADHD, dementia, night terrors, and more.
So if you suffer from bruxism, know that there could be many reasons for it and that you’re not alone.
Symptoms of Teeth Grinding
Though it can be hard to know if you grind your teeth in your sleep, there are some signs.
For example, if you wake up with a sore jaw or a headache, it may be from grinding your teeth. Your partner may also be able to notice if you grind your teeth at night. It might even wake them up!
If you’re still not sure whether you have bruxism, other symptoms include the following:
- Damaged teeth
- Headaches that begin at your temples
- Sleep trouble
- Tooth sensitivity or pain
- Sore jaw, neck, face
- Facial pain (trigeminal neuralgia)
- Earaches
- Inflamed or receding gums
Should you have any of these symptoms, consider seeing a doctor as soon as possible to get an official diagnosis.
Treatments for Teeth Grinding
Treating bruxism can be tricky.
You can treat it with a specially designed mouth guard called an occlusal splint. It’s sometimes also called a nightguard or a mandibular advancement device. It’s designed to hold your mouth in place as you sleep. That way, you physically can’t grind your teeth when it’s on.
Otherwise, you can also take behavioral approaches to treating bruxism. These come in the form of hypnosis, meditation, psychoanalysis, or autosuggestion. For example, you can tell yourself you won’t clench your teeth just before going to sleep. This way, the intention to not grind your teeth is fresh on your mind as you doze off and you’re less likely to do it.
How to Prevent Teeth Grinding
There are also a lot of things you can do to prevent teeth grinding at night.
For example, you can avoid unnecessarily chewing things during the day. If you have a bad habit of chewing on pencils or pens, do what you can to stop.
Or you could practice relaxing before you go to bed. Place a warm washcloth over your cheek to loosen the jaw muscles. Listen to relaxing music. Do some yoga. Anything you can do to calm your body before falling asleep will help.
Finally, avoid caffeine and alcohol as these can increase anxiety and other behavioral issues that lead to teeth grinding.
Whatever you do, pay attention to how your mouth feels during the day to stop it from clenching at night. Stay conscientious of your body and you’ll slowly recognize ways you can curb this unhealthy behavior.
