Do you often encounter soreness in your jaw or head? Believe it or not, these could be warning signs of a serious problem related to your smile. Bruxism is a disorder that causes a patient to frequently grind his/her teeth or clench his/her jaw, eventually damaging the teeth and leading to other complications. How do you treat bruxism?
Try Our Bruxism Quiz
- True or False: Injury can lead to teeth grinding.
- True or False: TMJ disorder is often related to the disorder.
- True or False: You can take steps to reduce the risk of future episodes.
- True or False: We can protect your smile with an oral appliance.
Answer Key
- True. If you break or lose a tooth, then the pressure on your jaw joints can lead sometimes lead to teeth grinding. Injury to the jaw can also cause bruxism to occur. Other cases include stress and misalignment.
- True. TMJ disorder is an issue that develops due to excessive pressure placed on one or more jaw joints. The disorder can increase the risk of teeth grinding, while bruxism itself can often place pressure on the joints and lead to grinding episodes.
- True. First, try and reduce the amount of stress in your day-to-day life. In addition, don’t chew on hard or inedible objects, such as pencils or pens. We also suggest avoiding caffeine. These simple changes can often help ease grinding episodes.
- True. An oral appliance is worn at night and places a barrier between the lower and upper teeth, preventing damage from occurring. Some oral appliances can also reposition the jaw to ease strain on the joints. Depending on the cause of your teeth grinding, we can also use a restoration, orthodontics, or a prosthetic to help treat the issue.
