Most people clench and grind their teeth from time to time, and doing so occasionally does not cause any harm. Constant grinding, gnashing and clenching (also known as Bruxism), however can cause problems and complications to your oral health.

What Causes Grinding Anyway?

Teeth grinding has always been attributed to crooked teeth or abnormal bite, but it also occurs as a result of anxiety and stress. While many people clench their teeth during the day, the bulk of teeth grinding usually happen at night during sleep, so it may be difficult to tell if you are among the many that do so.

While you may not catch yourself doing it in your sleep, you may notice some symptoms right when you wake up, which serve as telltale signs for Bruxism. These include the following:

• Sore jaw
• Regular and dull headache
• Teeth sensitivity
• Gingivitis
• Wounds on the inner cheek

If you still aren’t sure, you can also ask your significant other or a loved one to observe and listen for audible grinding sounds when you sleep at night.

Why Is Bruxism Harmful?

Chronic teeth grinding can cause a number of oral health problems. The constant friction can eat away at your tooth enamel, leading to sensitivity and eventually, tooth decay. It can wear teeth down into stumps or cause them to loosen and eventually fall off. All these effects may eventually require extensive and expensive dental work such as root canals, implants, crowns, bridges or even dentures.

Bruxism does not only result to tooth loss but may also affect your jaws and tax the joints and muscles of the area. In very severe cases, patients may experience hearing loss and may notice a change in the appearance or shape of their face.

How To Stop Teeth Grinding

Visit your dentist immediately if you suspect that you might be grinding your teeth. He or she will recommend some treatments or therapies which you can undergo, such as using a mouth guard during sleep or taking muscle relaxants to loosen the jaw and prevent grinding. Your dentist will also determine the severity of the damage (if there is any) and let you know of any work that needs to be done.
The bulk of the work however, does not lie with your dentist, but with you. Aside from mouth guards and medications, you can take action and try to help yourself at home. Here are some things that you can do:

• Reduce stress by following relaxation techniques, especially after you come home from a hard day’s work.
• Avoid alcohol and foods and drinks that contain caffeine.
• Stop chewing on gum, as well as objects that are not food (like pencils, fingernails, etc) as these make you more susceptible to teeth grinding.
• Stop clenching and relax your jaw throughout the day. Keep your mouth close but your teeth apart to loosen the jaw.
• Relax the jaw by taking a warm bath or placing a warm compress near the area right before bedtime.
• Exercise your jaw and your whole body to help relieve stress and tension.
• Apply gentle massage to the jaw muscles.
• Avoid hard and chewy foods that require effort when chewing to give the muscles a break.
• Deal with your anxieties and stresses by following various coping mechanisms such as counseling, meditation, visualization and guided imagery.

Teeth grinding may be common, as millions of people around the world do it and suffer from its effects unknowingly. You don’t have to be one of them. These tips should help you ease the symptoms associated with Bruxism or even stop you from grinding your teeth completely.