Oral health specialists often point to too much stress and certain personality types as causes of bruxism. Bruxism often affects people with nervous tension, such as anger, pain, or frustration. It also affects people with aggressive, hurried, or overly competitive tendencies. Also, some medicines can cause bruxism. Teeth grinding (or bruxism) can also be caused by a misaligned bite, sleep disorders, missing or broken teeth.
How Do I Know if I Grind My Teeth?
Most people want to stop their teeth grinding due to the associated jaw pain. It may cause difficulty with chewing, extreme headaches, and discomfort in the jaw area. Grinding your teeth wears down the enamel on your teeth, making it more difficult to chew and leaving your teeth more susceptible to cavities and breaking
What if you are unsure if teeth grinding is the root of your problems? These are a few ways to determine if you grind your teeth including:
- Waking with a sore jaw
- Being told by a partner who hears you do it
- Catching yourself doing it (you wake yourself up)
- Low grade headaches
- Pain or popping in your jaw
- Your dentist notices excessive tooth wear
How Do I Stop Grinding My Teeth?
The first way to stop any problematic habit is to identify why it is happening. Your dentist can help you determine the severity of the grinding and if you have a bite misalignment or tooth concern that is causing it. From there, he or she can make suggestions about how to correct the problem, and if a tooth protecting device is recommended.
Your dentist has options in regards to dental mouth guards that will protect your teeth from enamel loss or damage due to teeth grinding. So, if you are showing signs or symptoms of teeth grinding, it is best to see a dentist, such as Impact Dental Care, to determine if you have tooth damage, and how to mitigate it. Our dentists can help put your mind at ease with solutions to protect your good dental health and healthy smile.
Contact Impact Dental Care for All of Your Dental Needs. We are a family dentistry.
Give us a call and we will give you a free 30 minute consultation session with the dentist.
At Impact Dental Care, we provide a full range of dental services in Lorton, Stafford, and Woodbridge. We take care of most of your dental needs in-house, including dental crowns, Invisalign, sedation and dental implants. We have a sedation certified dentist, so sleep dentistry is always an option. We are dedicated to providing excellent service, quality care, and patient convenience. Please Click here to learn more and to set up an appointment.
