You may be working really hard to ensure proper dental health during the day but you may be damaging your teeth during the night without even realizing that you do it. This happens when you have the habit of clenching or grinding your teeth during sleep. This condition is commonly known as bruxism. Many people grind their teeth during sleep time but there are many ones who do it during the day. The major reason you may be doing it in the day could be the stress.

Over time, the habit of clenching teeth can result in the wear onto your teeth. Therefore, it is quite essential to address this issue on timely basis to make sure that you are not going to get your teeth damaged.

Reasons and signs of bruxism

The most common reason for teeth grinding is the stress or anxiety. The effect of this stress can reflect though your habit of grinding your teeth. Due to this stress, you may grind your teeth during night sleep or even during the day when you are not asleep. As a matter of fact, you may not have any idea that you are actually grinding your teeth even if you are fully awake.

As mentioned above, teeth’s grinding is can be considered as a physical manifestation of stress and you may not even now about it. So, you need to pay attention to your mouth the next time you are under stress. If you are clenching your jaw, you are definitely affected by bruxism.

Other reasons for bruxism include substance abuse, bite alignment issues and sleep apnea.

Talking about the signs, there are many. However, you will have to keep an eye on only a few ones which are proven to tell that a person suffers from bruxism. The most common one is the sore mouth while waking up. Moreover, you might see your teeth gradually decreasing in size over time. This is the very effect of grinding you will need to avoid.

The person you share your bed with can tell you if you have this habit of grinding teeth. The sound of grinding might not wake you up but other person is definitely going to tell you about it.

Treatment

After noticing these signs, you can call your dentist for help. The dentist will note down the wear patterns to determine the intensity of bruxism you are having. Your jaw will also be analyzed in this session. Your dentist may be the first person to know that you are grinding your teeth. This is the reason that visiting the dentist more often if recommended.

There are a few options you can consider for treating the bruxism. The most common one is associated with the use of an appliance which you will need to wear while you sleep. This device will not only help you get rid of this habit but it will also help your jaw to regain the ideal function.

Another option is the use of night guard. Night guard uses the same concept that of mouth guard which you will need to wear during sports to protect your teeth from injuries. This night guard can help you avoid the reduction of your teeth’s size.