Grind Your Teeth? Here’s 5 Things You Probably Don’t Know About the Habit

1. Teeth grinding has a fancy name—‘bruxism.’ You can experience bruxism while you’re awake unknowingly, or while you sleep at night (nighttime bruxism).

2. There are several signs of teeth grinding that aren’t always that obvious—do any of these sound familiar to you? If so, you might be grinding your teeth without thinking twice about it.

· Waking up with headaches

· Jaw soreness

· Tightness or pain in facial muscles

· Fatigue or tiredness due to lack of sleep

3. While grinding your teeth may not sound incredibly serious, it can lead to long term (costly) issues and more, including broken or chipped teeth, worn and cracked enamel, gum recession and even loss of teeth.

4. Bruxism has several causes, including stress, anxiety, alcohol consumption, smoking, sleep apnea, snoring, abnormal bite and crooked teeth.

5. There are successful treatments for grinding your teeth—like having a custom-made bite guard fitted for you at our practice. These guards are durable, long-lasting and may be covered by your insurance—not to mention, because their custom formed to your mouth, they’re much more comfortable than ones you might purchase over-the-counter. At your visit, we’ll take 3D scans of your teeth and bite, which will then be sent to a lab to fabricate a hard or soft night-guard. Then, you’ll return to try it on and make sure it fits perfectly. It’s that simple!

Ready To Book?

We’d love to see you in the practice soon. As a reminder, we’re now open and taking extreme safety protocols to protect the health of our staff and patients in light of Covid-19.

Don’t let teeth grinding or clenching damage your oral health—give us a call to book your appointment today.