How is grinding your teeth bad

If you're under a lot of stress you tend to grind or clench your teeth. Not unusual for us to see college students at finals time grinding and clenching their teeth a little bit more as they're preparing for final exams.

Or people with life stresses, work stresses those are triggers for the grinding clenching habits. Interviewer: I'm going to admit I am a teeth clencher and didn't realize it till my dentist said, "Are you clenching your jaw a lot?

Am I good? Okano: That's great that your dentist recognized it. Quite often you may be doing the damage to your teeth through your clenching habit without being aware of it. Your dentist often finds wear patterns in the teeth that suggest the wearing down of your teeth. It is a situation where you may not be in control of stopping the habit so that's why the appliances we make in the dental office can be very beneficial to reduce the damage.

Interviewer: Yeah, let's get to that in a second. So I could continue to clench and grind at night and there's really nothing I can do about that. I could adjust my habits during the day maybe, but night that's tough. Okano: There are some who've had some success with hypnotherapy, I wouldn't rule that as an option, but generally speaking it is a habit that is very difficult to overcome and eliminate.

We try to utilize appliances to reduce that damage. Interviewer: So the damage is damage to the surface of the teeth which could weaken it, cause cracks, but then you also talk about bone loss where you could actually lose teeth? It's like putting a post in the ground. If you push on that post little by little it'll get looser and you'll start losing the support of the post in the ground.

Same thing can happen when you're grinding your teeth. As you put pressures on the top it will transmit into the bone support and eventually a loose tooth could develop from chronic granular clenching of your teeth.

Interviewer: All right and the solution I think you alluded to a little bit earlier, a mouth guard. Okano: That is one solution. Certainly it's very important for you to see your dentist to see if there are some high spots on your teeth. On occasion the grinding is stimulated by a high spot.

For example if you received a new filling or a new crown and all of a sudden the bite is off, your body is trying to grind your teeth into equilibrium.

The severity of the damage can increase over time as teeth become weaker and more susceptible to decay. Teeth can eventually become loose enough to fall out.

Severe long term teeth grinding can wear teeth down to just stumps. Grinding teeth can also do long term damage to your jaw causing pain, restricted movement, and a clicking sound as your jaw opens and closes.

Because the habit is hard to break, the best thing to do is to protect your teeth from the damage that grinding inflicts. The most common solution for sleep bruxism is a mouth guard to wear at night that provides a barrier that absorbs the impact of the grinding and protects the teeth. Daytime bruxism is harder to control, however, making efforts to reduce stress can help.

Exercising, talk therapy, anxiety medication, and even muscle relaxers can help you to release some of the tension in your jaw. Bruxism can start at an early age and become a lifelong habit that is extremely difficult to break the older you get. Stopping the habit in childhood can prevent a lifetime of damage to the teeth and jaw. Victoria E. Shack can help with prevention and restoration of tooth damage due to grinding.

Call today to make an appointment or request an appointment and someone will contact you. If you have any of the following symptoms, you may be grinding your teeth: Teeth that are worn down through the enamel Flat, broken, or chipped teeth Loose teeth Jaw pain Tooth sensitivity Headaches Sores on your tongue and insides of your cheeks from unconscious biting Frequent waking at night and feeling tired during the day Teeth hitting together so hard the sound wakes your partner at night.

Reduce your caffeine intake. Caffeine can be an anxiety inducer. Drink less alcohol. Patel also recommends asking your doctor if a splint is the right option for you. A custom-made splint can protect teeth and help relax muscles in the jaw. Teeth grinding can lead to jaw disorders, headache and damaged teeth.

By Banner Health. Oct 21, Teach Me. Sore facial muscles Headaches Ear Aches Temporomandibular joint dysfunction TMJ Fractured teeth Sensitive teeth The Treatment for Teeth Grinding There are a variety of treatment options when it comes to bruxism, depending on the severity of your symptoms. November 09, November 04, October 28, October 18,