EXCESSIVE teeth grinding during sleep

[chef]

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my gf is genuinely worried about me (thankfully she's a nice enough person to not bitch about it for bothering her sleep) b/c of my grinding. she's amazed that i havent filed away all of my teeth, although i must wonder if all of my enamel is getting ground away.

is this a serious problem? should i go see a dentist asap? but what can he do? he cannot stop the grinding, but he'll just fit me a mouthguard right? is it known what causes grinding? stress?

 

[aphistis]

Yeah, tooth-grinding (bruxism) can be a real problem. Not only can it wear your enamel, but it can also predispose you for TMJ trouble, which can downright suck. I'm not far enough in to suggest a whole lot at the therapeutic end, but stress and anxiety are big causes of bruxism.

Yah-E? UBTom? Other upperclassmen?

 

[SeaBass]

I would not consider this an urgent matter but would recommend seeing a dentist in the near future to address this matter as long term bruxing can damage your teeth TMJoint and lead to some unpleasant symptoms. A mouthguard/splint can in some cases stop bruxing altogether. If it is unsuccesful in doing so, it can still benefit by sustaining the wear instead of your teeth. In addition, splints are designed to promote the placement of your TMJoint in the most therapeutic position. Thus, if one continues to brux, at least their TMJoint is placed in the position most capable of withstanding it.

 

[UBTom]

Both Bill and Seabass go to the head of the class. 😀

Yep, it's better to wear down a plastic mouth guard if you grind at night than to grind against one's opposing teeth and cause heavy attrition. And that is only one modality in the treatment of nighttime grinding.

Other modalities include keeping an activities log to see if there is a correlation between daytime stress and emotionally-charged events and sleep bruxism episodes, and then tailor a course of habit-conditioning, stress management or pharmacological means (meds are least preferred though) to manage the condition.

HTH!

 

[mr thirsty]

All these guys seem like they know what they are talking about and have been paying attention in their occlusion courses.

In addition to all the things that the guys before me have mentioned, I would like to add something that was taught to us in our occlusion course at NYU.

Bruxism can cause abfractive lesions to form. This is due to the teeth flexing while you are grinding. As teeth flex, some pieces of enamel at the level of the gums start chipping away and form something that resembles toothbrush abrasion lesions.

Also wear facets can form on the occlusal surface of teeth which is capable of making your teeth very sensitive and prone to decay.

As everyone has suggested, do go to see your dentist and he can make you a splint to wear at night that will with time correct this habit and preserve your teeth.

Good luck,

 

[Jone]

You may also want to look into the NTI device.

Tryi to find a dentist who is experienced using
it, because not all of them know the correct way.

Do a search on google and you will know what
I'm talking about.