Bruxism

Bruxism – Grinding Teeth/Clenching of Jaw

Bruxism is the medical term for grinding the teeth and the clenching of the jaw. A person suffering from bruxism may unconsciously clench their teeth together, during the day or grind and clench them at night in their sleep.

Sleep bruxism is a sleep related movement disorder and who clench or grind their teeth during sleep are likely to have other sleep disorders like snoring and pauses in breathing – sleep apnoea. Bruxism which is mild, may not need any treatment though in some people it could be frequent and severe enough to cause jaw disorders, headaches, together with damaged teeth and several other problems.

At times people with this disorder tend to grind their teeth without it causing any kind of symptoms or problems though regular grinding and clenching could cause jaw pain accompanied with discomfort and wear down on teeth.

It could also lead to headaches and earache. Around 80% of the cases of teeth grinding takes place subconsciously during sleep and is usually associated with contributing factors like stress or anxiety.

Reasons – Stress & Anxiety

Bruxism could also affect people when they are awake though it is more likely to be clenching the teeth and jaw instead of grinding their teeth. Most of the people tend to do it subconsciously while concentrating or when they are under stress.

The disorder tends to come and go and is likely to be worse when the person is undergoing a lot of stress or anxiety. Some of the signs and symptoms are – teeth grind or clenching which could be loud enough to wake a person from their sleep, teeth flattened, fractured, chipped or loose, increased tooth sensitivity, jaw or face pain or soreness, tired or tight jaw muscles, worn tooth enamel, exposing deeper layers of tooth, pain which feels like an earache when the problem is not with the ear, dull headache which originates in the temples, damage from chewing on the inside of the cheek, and indentations on the tongue.

Associated with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea – OSA 

Besides stress bruxism is also associated with obstructive sleep apnoea OSA which is a sleep disorder wherein the breathing is interrupted while the person is asleep though it is unknown how bruxism and OSA affect each other.

Teeth grinding could also be due to antipsychotic and antidepressant medication. Teeth grinding is at times referred by physicians as the result of underlying condition as primary bruxism, while bruxism associated with medication, condition or lifestyle factors is considered as secondary bruxism.

Life style could also have an effect wherein regular consumption of alcohol smoking and use of recreational drugs like cocaine and ecstasy could increase the risk of bruxism.

Treatments for bruxism are many though only a few have shown to be effective. The use of mouth guards or mouth splints and behavioural therapies could be effective in handling the symptoms connected with bruxism.

Mouth splints and mouth guard works in reducing the sensation of grinding and clenching teeth, helping in the prevention of any wear on the teeth while other treatments like muscle relaxation exercises together with sleep hygiene could also help in managing the symptoms.