Bruxism is the dental jargon for habitual, involuntary grinding and clenching that rubs off teeth, associated with forceful jaw, which usually occur during sleep, as from anger, tension, fear, or frustration. Bruxer is the term for a person who grinds and clenches his teeth that unintentionally bites down too hard at improper times like during sleeping.

Bruxism can easily be treated by a dentist. It is believed that approximately one in three people suffer from bruxism. Many people are not aware that they have the habit of bruxism, of which they are not diagnosed until it’s too late. Moreover, bruxers may also have tendencies to bite their fingernails, pencils or pens and chew the inside of their cheeks.

The harmful causes of bruxism include occurrence of headaches, jaw pain and tense muscles along with excessive movement of the teeth harshly against one another. Over time, the teeth of bruxers become sensitive due to frequent and hard clench of their healthy teeth and gums. The jaw may move out of proper balance because of powerful biting when not eating.

The indications of bruxism consist of having a look of flat tips of the teeth, which are deteriorated so much that the enamel is rubbed off. This exposes the dentin, which is the inside of the tooth, and makes it sensitive. Tongue indentations are another indication of clenching. Women, who are more likely to experience tissue alterations in the jaw, have a higher occurrence of bruxism. Pain in the temporomandibular joint or TMJ, are experienced by bruxers which may appear itself as clicking and popping, as jaw joint may be over loaded.

The sources of bruxism are stress, which is a huge factor when it comes to bruxing, and some personality types. Bruxism is triggered by pain and anger, as well as frustration. Bruxism presents a greater risk for people who are aggressive, competitive and hurried. sleep bruxism and anxiety and therapy cognitive behaviour

Physical signs of bruxism are automatically examined during regular dental visits. The condition may be observed over several visits if the patient or the dentist, notices indications of bruxism, before starting and recommending treatments. The dentist has to be sure if there is bruxism before applying any treatment.

Changing the behavior by learning how to rest the teeth, tongue and lips properly must be learned by the bruxer. This is the main goal of the therapy. The patient is advised to rest their tongue upward with teeth apart and lips shut, sleep bruxism and anxiety and therapy cognitive behaviour . This may be enough to alter their behavior and ease discomfort. On the other hand, the dentist can create a night guard which is a plastic mouth piece that is worn to absorb the force of biting. It provides a proper bite so that muscles will relax and problems in a person’s bite will not trigger the bruxing habit. A night guard can help change the patient’s destructive behavior, and thus also prevent future damage to teeth.

Researchers are searching for other ways of treating bruxism, especially for those persons who tend to clench during sleep. Daytime clenchers has been treated using Biofeedback technology, which uses electronic means to measure jaw muscle activity and recommends patients to counteract and minimize it. An experimental lip stimulator which electrically stimulates the lip when a person bites down too hard while sleeping was developed by a researcher as a cure for bruxism. Yet, the method is still under study because the stimulation can disturb sleep several times in a night.

DR. JOHN CHAVES
5312 Comercio Lane, Suite A
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Phone 818-999-2707
Fax 818-703-1998
appointment@cosmeticdentalservices.com