Do you often wake up with a headache? Or with pain in your teeth and jaw? If you said yes to either of these questions, you may be grinding your teeth. Teeth grinding, clinically called bruxism, is a natural habit that almost everyone has done at one point. Usually teeth grinding does not lead to any health problems but for some it can lead to damaged teeth, jaw and facial pain, earaches and headaches after they wake up. Grinding your teeth is a hard habit to break especially since you can’t stop yourself from teeth grinding when you’re asleep. The most commonly used solution for night teeth grinding is a night guard. A night guard are pieces of plastic, like a retainer, that cover your top and bottom sets of teeth.
This device stops you from clenching your jaw and prevents any more damage to your teeth. The night guard acts as a cushion, thus protecting your teeth from grinding against each other. Night guards are usually available without prescriptions but it is best to receive a prescription from one of our highly-qualified dentists. Our team of dentists will ensure that your night guard is unique to your mouth and provide maximum comfort. Our dentists will take an impression of your teeth to create a custom-made night guard just for you. If you receive a general night guard from a pharmacy, it will be ill-fitting and uncomfortable. Pharmacy type night guards usually do not last long, meaning that you will spend more running through temporary night guards rather than a prescription.
Bruxism does not have one root cause but can be due to several reasons. Stress is one of the most common causes for bruxism and can be cured by reducing or removing reasons for stress in your life. You may also have bruxism from a force of habit developed at a young age, or from discomfort from misaligned teeth. Misaligned teeth force you to shift your mouth to seek a comfortable position while you sleep. If you suffer from Temporomandibular joint dysfunction, TMJ, you may be grinding your teeth while you sleep due to stress on the joints of your jaws. Many people who suffer from bruxism don’t even know that they are suffering from it! Usually their spouse will notice that their partner has bruxism when they are awakened by the sound of grinding teeth at night. Regardless of whether your spouse notices or not, our dentists will find evidence of teeth grinding such as worn out teeth or chips, cracks and breaks in teeth during a regular dental examination. Our team of dentists are always on the lookout for severe dental damage so that they can begin to repair and maintain your teeth.
Night guards are the best option for you if you often wake up with a headache or with pain in your jaw. Talk to our team of experts today about night guards if you are concerned that you are grinding your teeth at night.
The longer you wait to fix your bruxism, the more damage your teeth and jaw will suffer.