Treatment of Bruxism
What is bruxism?
Bruxism consists of teeth grinding and jaw clenching, often an oral parafunctional activity. It can cause pain and headaches for some people, though it doesn’t always have symptoms, and can wear down your teeth over time.
Usually a person is not aware that they are grinding or clenching. It often happens when you’re sleeping (nighttime bruxism) or when you’re concentrating (daytime bruxism).
Symptoms of bruxism
People who suffer from bruxism can have any one or multiple of the following symptoms:
- hyper-sensitive teeth
- facial pain
- headache or earache
- stiffness and pain in the jaw and muscles around it
- disruption of sleep
- worn-down teeth
- fractured teeth or fillings
- tooth indentations on the tongue-
Managing your bruxism
Bruxism is not curable but can be managed. Certain medications or therapy to help manage stress may be suitable treatments for you from your GP. Your dentist can also help you manage your bruxism to prevent wearing down your teeth. You may be recommended orthodontics, mouth guards, splints if needed, crowns, and, in extreme situations, surgery.
Custom mouth guards
One of the most common ways your dentist will suggest to manage your bruxism is with custom made mouth guards (dental appliances). These appliances help to take the pressure off your jaw muscle when you are grinding or clenching while also creating a barrier to save your teeth from wear.
Mouth guards are made of rubber or plastic and cover your top or bottom teeth. We offer day and night guards in Hard, Hard/Soft, and Flexiguard forms.
Concerned you might have TMD? Learn more here
Suffer from snoring? Alongside the other types of guards we offer, we also provide snore guards.
Flawless Dental has your health in mind. We will always request a sleep study to determine whether you have sleep apnea before recommending a snore guard.