Teeth Grinding: The Dangers, Causes, and Solutions

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Teeth Grinding is quite common and it affects people of all ages. Even though it is also common in adults it is especially common in kids, especially when they are upset or sleeping. Teeth grinding is not dangerous in most cases, but it shouldn’t be completely ignored, especially if it is excessive or with adults. If you know someone or you are struggling with teeth grinding, here are some things that you need to understand about it and stop this bad habit from doing serious damage to your jaw and teeth.

What is Bruxism?

There are a lot of people who don’t know that teeth-grinding is actually a condition called bruxism. As we have mentioned above, it can affect people of all ages. What bruxism means is that you are grinding your teeth but also clenching your teeth very aggressively. What makes this so unique is that it is often an unconscious habit. When someone is doing it during the day consciously that means that it is awakened bruxism. If it is left untreated it can cause sleep apnea, snoring as well teeth damage, and jaw issues.

Symptoms of Teeth Grinding

One of the most populated symptoms of bruxism is headaches, jaw pain, ear pain, and aching teeth. You can also experience stiffness when chewing especially in the mornings as well as checking your jaw when anxious or angry.

Why Do People Grind Their Teeth?

In most cases, kids will grind their teeth when they are learning about how their mouth works. But after some time, you realize that teeth grinding is a regular thing. But, you should ensure that it is getting checked out. In both kids and adults, bruxism is a sign of anxiety, stress, and frustration. Another thing that can trigger bruxism is certain medications as well as disorders such as epilepsy and night terrors.

How to Stop Teeth Grinding

If you are dealing with a baby that is brushing its teeth, offer them a chew toy. This way, you can stop them from ruining their future teeth. You will offer them counter pressure and it will make the discomfort go away as they are chewing on it. Also, if an adult is dealing with teeth grinding there are multiple ways you can approach this issue. One of the best things that you can do for bruxism is get a night mouth guard to prevent teeth from grinding. By not having mouth guards for a long time, you are increasing the risk of damaging teeth. Plus, you will develop TMJ.

A mouth guard will help with sleep apnea as well as other things that are a side-effect of bruxism. The key is not letting it get too late and preventing tooth damage and TMJ from happening. Another thing that you can do to help out with bruxism is ensuring that you are sleeping in a dark quiet room as well as using some stress-relief techniques to make you calmer or sleep on your stomach or side.

When to Visit a Professional

In most cases, bruxism is just a temporary thing and people grow out of that phase.  However, if you notice that the symptoms are becoming severe, make sure that you are visiting a dentist. If adults are dealing with bruxism, it is important that it is taken care of right away as you can damage your adult teeth. Depending on how severe the damage to your teeth is you might need to have different types of implants. Or in some serious cases, you may need jaw surgery.  If you need to have braces or retainers, your dentist might also offer clear aligners or retainers as they will prevent teeth from grinding.

As we have mentioned before, teeth grinding is something that people will grow out of as it is just a phase, but if you start noticing that there are some abnormalities such as jaw pains, headaches, or severe tooth wear, it is safe to say that you are dealing with bruxism.

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