My Fight Against Bruxism – The Damn Grinding of My Teeth!
Posted on 25. Feb, 2008 by Ben in Grinding Teeth
Every morning would find me awake, with a sore jaw, and the occasional headache. The night before I would go to bed, all as per normal, but for the strangest reason, the mornings would find me up and unrefreshed.
It took me a while — a while, and some roommates actually, before I discovered the cause of my enigmatic sore jaw and headaches. It was because I continually grinded my teeth while I was asleep. This is known as bruxism, or sleep bruxism, because it occurs at night, or when you are asleep. It’s safe to say that sleep bruxism is a widespread problem. It is more prevalent in children, but they often outgrow it.
What is bruxism? Well it’s the unconscious habit of clenching or grinding teeth, and is one of the leading causes of tooth destruction. Imagine how strong your teeth are when you chew on food, and then imagine now chewing on nothing. Ouch. During bruxism episodes, the upper and lower teeth may come into direct contact for as much as 40 minutes per hour, and with a force of up to 250 pounds.
It’s pretty scary actually. Because you are COMPLETELY unaware that you’re grinding your teeth. At least eight to 10% of the adult population grind their teeth every night, while the American Dental Association (ADA) ranks it as one of the most common sleep disorders. The ADA estimates that up to 95% of adults are sporadically afflicted with the condition.
About Me:
Hi, my name's Ben, and I'm a long-time sufferer of bruxism - a condition in which I grind on my teeth all night long, causing me to wake up with a sore jaw and have occasional headaches. I started this site to journal my experience with bruxism and my progress to finding a cure.
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As this device is mainly worn during your sleep, it is essential, during daytime, to try control the clenching and rubbing of your teeth so as to force yourself to lose the reflex action of teeth grinding.
SleepRight provides your teeth relief from teeth grinding. Buy the SleepRight mouth guard.
