Clenching and Grinding
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009Most people who come in for their dental check-up don?t know that they may be clenching or grinding their teeth. These people are usually clenching or grinding subconsciously in their sleep and may wake up with a sore jaw, tightness, or headaches along the sides of their head where the ?temples? are located. Others may be doing if during a stressful day at home or work as well. This habit is often associated with stress and is known in dentistry as Bruxing.
The muscles of the jaw are extremely strong. These grinding actions back-and-forth will rub the enamel of the top and bottom teeth together creating wear in the enamel. The naturally rounded enamel will begin to get a squared-off look to it, and in moderate cases wear through through the first layer of the teeth. As with grinding clenching is putting massive forces on the teeth except the pressure is straight up/down. With both cases you may get wear of enamel, fracturing of the teeth, and problems in the structure surrounding the teeth.
Your dental team will assess your specific situation and determine the best treatment for you. Often a night guard, or bruxism appliance is fabricated which prevents tooth on tooth contact, minimized future wear, and can sometime break the habit all together.