Bruxism is a medical term that describes the act of grinding the teeth and clenching the jaw.
Sometimes, people grind their teeth without it causing any symptoms or problems. However, regular and persistent teeth grinding can cause pain and discomfort in your jaw and it can wear down your teeth.
Teeth grinding can also cause headaches and earache.
Read more about the symptoms of bruxism.
Most cases of teeth grinding (nearly 80%) occur subconsciously during sleep. It is usually associated with contributing factors, such as stress or anxiety (see below).
Bruxism also affects people when they are awake, although this is more likely to be clenching the teeth and jaw, rather than grinding. Most people do it subconsciously while they are concentrating.
What causes bruxism?
Bruxism almost always occurs in association with other factors. About 70% of bruxism cases that occur during sleep are thought be related to stress and anxiety.
There is also a strong association between bruxism and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). OSA is a sleep disorder where your breathing is interrupted during your sleep.
Teeth grinding can also be caused by taking certain antidepressants. Your lifestyle can also have an effect. For example, regularly drinking alcohol, smoking and using recreational drugs, such as ecstasy and cocaine, increase your risk of bruxism.
Doctors sometimes refer to teeth grinding that is caused by an underlying condition as “primary bruxism” and teeth grinding associated with a medication, condition or your lifestyle as “secondary bruxism”.
Read more about the causes of bruxism.
Treating bruxism
There are a number of possible treatments for teeth grinding but only a few have been shown to be effective.
Behavioural therapies and the use of night guards, mouth splints and mandibular advancement devices are recommended treatments for bruxism.
If you grind your teeth while you are asleep, you may need to wear a mouth guard at night to protect your teeth from further damage.
If you have an anxiety or stress-related problem, a course of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) may be recommended. CBT aims to manage your problems by changing how you think and act.
It may be possible to break the habit of teeth grinding using habit-reversal techniques.
Making some simple lifestyle changes, such as giving up smoking (if you smoke), reducing your alcohol consumption and managing stress may also help.
Call us today at (215) 568-6222 to schedule a FREE consultation with Dr. Cirka if you suffer from any of the symptoms of bruxism. Here are Dr. Cirka’s Office we will make you a custom night guard! Call now and we can schedule you an appointment that works with your schedule.
We look forward to seeing you soon!