Bruxism, more commonly known as grinding or clenching teeth is an issue many individuals often face during stressful situations. Many people tend to grind or clench their teeth together while asleep due to many factors, the most common one being stress.
Most individuals aren’t aware that they may have this habit while sleeping. Some ways to find out if you are grinding or clenching your teeth is to identify any pain in the jaw or headaches in the morning. Closing your teeth so tight togther at night puts extra pressure and work on your TMJ muscle which may feel sore in the morning. You may also notice cracked teeth or worn down teeth.
If clenching or grinding teeth is continued, overtime the hard enamel that protects our teeth will begin to wear away. Once the enamel is worn away, dentin is exposed which carries pain and sensitivty to our nerve. Therefore, you may begin to feel sensitive to hot, cold or pressure while eating.
To prevent this from getting worse, it is important to have regular dental visits. If bruxism is caught early your dentist can provide you with a custom made night guard. Night guards are a hard protective covering that you can put on at night. It will shield your teteh from further damage and your dentist can restore your current worn down teeth.
If you have any questions or want more information, we invite you to call our team at The Smile Team in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, today at 416-546-5599. We look forward to helping you in any way we can, and we thank you for the opportunity!