Many people grind their teeth during the night without even knowing that they are doing it, but if you have a partner who grinds their teeth, you’re probably longing for a peaceful and undisturbed night’s sleep. Teeth grinding, also know as bruxism, is a subconscious action, which can cause damage to the teeth. If you grind your teeth, we can provide treatment to protect your teeth and help you and your partner to enjoy a restful night.
Why do I grind my teeth and what are the implications?
There are different reasons why people grind their teeth, but most commonly, bruxism is linked to stress and anxiety. Other possible causes include orthodontic issues, which mean that the teeth are not aligned properly.
If you grind your teeth, you may damage the enamel and increase the risk of chips. Grinding the teeth can also increase the risk of headaches and migraines, which may be associated with temporomandibular joint disorder. TMJ disorder is a term used to describe pain and other symptoms, which affect the TM joint, the joint, which connects the lower jaw to the skull.
What can be done?
If you grind your teeth and it is affecting your oral health or causing your aches and pains, we may recommend wearing a bite guard. This is an appliance, which is similar to a mouth guard used for sport, which helps to prevent the teeth from clashing and clenching together. The bite guard is custom-made to ensure a comfortable fit. If you think that stress may be causing you to clench your teeth, we can also recommend stress management techniques.
After a hectic day of stress and anxiety in the city of Leeds, do you know how to chill-out when you get home? Have a hot bath, soft music, glass of wine, light-up some incense, soft music and a cup of herbal tea before a book at bedtime? Or do you find you’re just as anxious and angry as you have been all day when you hit the pillow? Because if you’re not relaxing properly, you may well find that you are grinding your teeth while you sleep. The symptoms to look out for here are aching and clicking jaws, neck and upper back and if you suffer from any of these, you are putting your health on the line, let alone wearing down the enamel on your teeth and leaving yourself open to tooth decay and gum disease. The point at where the jaws meet is a very delicate area that has to take the every day things you throw at it anyway, but what it doesn’t need is extra stress placed upon it from teeth grinding and if you fail to rectify the problem, it could let to some very expensive repair work on your teeth and surgery on your jaws. A dentist can help your teeth by prescribing a mouth-guard, but what is really essential is to get your stress and anger under control by seeking professional help from someone who can teach you stress management, and stop you from feeding your tension through your jaws, into your head and then down the neck into the upper back.
You might be one of the many people who grind their teeth while asleep and not even know that you are doing it. It is not a trifling matter either, for it can have consequences for the health of your mouth. With the help of your local dentist you can get to the bottom of problems with teeth grinding so that it is stopped and you are able to rest assured that you are not compromising the health of your mouth.
It’s not really rocket science- the clue is in print, in the title- mouth-guard. It’s a device that does what it claims, protecting your mouth from any possible chance of injury…where it can and within reason. In the city of Leeds, mouth guards are used in all walks of life; from hospital surgery, through to dentists and sports, you’ll find them everywhere. If you play a lot of contact sports, the best way of protecting your mouth and its teeth, your jaw and your neck, they will help, at the very least, help limit the injuries that you sustain. The guard of your choice is essentially down to you, but with a little research, you can choose the right one that is tailored to the games that you play. Dentists incorporate them in many procedures. Modern styles of orthodontic procedures to correct teeth alignment veer away from traditional braces, preferring devices that are more akin to a boxer’s gum-shield. Bruxism or teeth grinding is very damaging to the mouth; gum-shields are often used to protect the teeth from unnecessary wear and tear during the treatment of the problem (they are also used in the treatment of snoring). One of the more fashionable ways a mouth-guard is used is in the field of cosmetic dentistry- teeth bleaching. The shield not only houses the bleaching agent to whiten your teeth, but it also protects the rest of the mouth being damaged by the chemicals in the bleach.
Confidence is such an important part of most walks of life that you should grasp every opportunity to give it a boost. It is something that employers look for when they are interviewing candidates and it is the best way to stand out at a party if you are looking to meet new people when you are there. But problems with your appearance can damage your self esteem no matter how much you might try and wish it away. If the issue is with your smile, don’t delay, contact your dentist and ask about cosmetic dentistry and how your look can be improved.
Just as common as snoring but not nearly as talked about, grinding your teeth in your sleep can have fairly serious repercussions and ought to be taken seriously. As the condition concerns your mouth, your dentist is able to help in diagnosing teeth grinding and then formulating an appropriate response.
Having a pain free set of teeth is something that many of us take for granted. But teeth are an incredibly sensitive part of the body and any pain that you have there will make normal, every day activities such as eating, drinking and talking, that much more difficult. There are a number of causes of dental pain and you should seek the advice of your dentist if it should occur.
