Are You Grinding Your Teeth While You Sleep?

Teeth grinding (or bruxism) is common oral habit. Unfortunately, it is one that can wreak havoc on your dental health over time. To make matters worse, teeth grinding is most often performed during nighttime sleep, leaving patients unaware that they are even engaging in this harmful habit. Unless you have a bed partner that is willing to reveal your teeth grinding problem, you’ll need to watch out for certain daytime symptoms so that you can protect your smile from bruxism.

Warning Signs of Bruxism

Bruxism produces tremendous amounts of force on your teeth and jaw. In fact, it’s more pressure than they were designed to handle. This is why persistent teeth grinding (or clenching) rarely goes unscathed. If you have a bruxism habit while you sleep, you are likely to suffer from some of the following disruptive symptoms during the day:

• Tension Headaches
• Increased Tooth Sensitivity
• Worn down teeth
• TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder)
• Jaw Clicking, Popping or Stiffness
• Consistent Jaw, Ear or Neck Pain

Treating Jaw Issues Related to Teeth Grinding

Once you’ve identified your teeth grinding habit, a qualified dentist can help. At Carrington Square Dental, we can provide a custom nighttime mouthguard to protect your teeth and jaw from bruxism. We can also discuss the potential reasons why you may be grinding or clenching your teeth, such as stress/anxiety, a medication side effect, malocclusion, etc. Your treatment could be as simple as finding more ways to relax or changing your daily prescription.

If you are suffering from the warning signs of bruxism, don’t delay treatment. Call our Waxhaw dental clinic today.