How to Stop Grinding Teeth

Bruxism, or Teeth Grinding can be mild or serious. The treatment of bruxism or teeth grinding varies depending on its cause. Here are some of the common causes and the treatments to stop teeth grinding under such circumstances.

• Stress – Stress is one of the common causes that lead to teeth grinding or bruxism. If your problem is also stress-related then it is advisable that you contact your dentist or physician. He may recommend psychotherapy, professional counseling, biofeedback exercises or other strategies to help you de-stress and relax. Your physician also may prescribe some muscle relaxant medications to ease the spasm in your clenched and overworked jaw temporarily. If the conventional therapy does not help then your dentist may refer you to an oral surgeon who may inject botulinum toxin directly into your jaw muscles to temporaraily relieve you of the problem.
• Neuromuscular Illness or Brain Injury – Bruxism may be especially hard to treat if you have a brain injury or any kind of neuromuscular illness. At the most, your oral surgeon may give you injections of botulinum toxin if more conservative treatments fail.
• Dental Problems – Many times bruxism is caused due to dental problems. Under such circumstances, your dentist may treat it with occlusal therapy. In case of severe dental disorder, your dentist may need to use onlays or crowns to completely reshape the biting surfaces of your teeth.
• Medication - In case you develop teeth grinding problem as a side effect of antidepressant medications then consult your doctor. You can either switch to a different drug or use another medication to counteract your bruxism.

So don’t despair – If you suffer from bruxism, start looking for a treatment now!

Do you know? Many people grind, gnash or clench your teeth when they are angry or anxious, and affects a large percentage of people. In medical science, this symptom is known as Bruxism, and is a condition that can affect both children and adults. Some people consciously grind or clench their teeth when angry or tensed while there are some who do it unconsciously.

Bruxism is a night condition that’s actually different from the teeth grinding or clenching that occurs at day time. It is the term given to specifically denote the grinding of teeth at night. Most of the children and adult who suffer from this disease do this at night, however there are cases where there are daytime bruxers.

Bruxism or teeth grinding may be mild in many people and may not even require treatment. However, at times it can be serious and lead to various complications. Some of the common complications caused due to teeth grinding are:

• Jaw disorders
• Headaches
• Damaged teeth and other dental problems

It is therefore very important to stop the habit of teeth grinding at all costs. Unfortunately, those people who have sleep bruxism or teeth grinding disorder during sleep usually aren’t aware of this habit. Thus it is difficult to treat with their condition until complications occur or they come to know of it.

It is thus, important to know the signs and symptoms of bruxism and to seek regular dental care. Prevention and care can help you fight this disease. So, fight and stop grinding teeth in the initial stage before any complications occur.

Along with brushing your teeth, you should also be flossing on a daily basis. Flossing will remove plaque and debris in areas that your toothbrush isn’t able to reach, and is especially important because as bruxors, we sleep with a night mouth guard.

A buildup of plaque can lead to gum disease or tooth decay, which is why flossing is very important. If you floss immediately after brushing, you’ll notice that your gums and teeth will be much healthier.

When you look at dental floss, you’ll notice there are two types – nylon and single filament. You can get nylon either waxed or un-waxed, in several different flavors. Nylon floss is made up of several strands of nylon material, meaning that it can shred, tear, or snag between the teeth if it gets caught on sharp teeth.

Even though the single filament floss is more expensive than nylon, it will slide easily between teeth, even tight areas and spaces. Unlike nylon, single filament is impossible to shred or tear.

No matter which type of floss you choose, as long you floss regularly, it will remove debris from your teeth and gums. If you’ve never tried flossing before, you will probably be amazed at just how much debris and food particles it can remove. Flossing is recommended by dentists everywhere, as it can reach places that even the smallest of toothbrushes can’t. Food and debris will build up between your teeth, which makes dental flossing very important.

The main problem many people have against flossing is the fact that it can result in bleeding of the gums. Anytime you floss and get between your teeth and around your gums, the floss will rub against your gums, resulting in bleeding. Many people take this the wrong way, and immediately stop flossing, usually for good. Bleeding is very common, and should be expected with flossing.

When you brush your teeth, you miss a lot of food particles and debris that continues to build up in your mouth. No toothbrush is designed to get every area of your mouth, as all of them miss hard to reach places. With the areas missed by the toothbrush, the debris and plaque will continue to build up until they eventually result in a cavity or decay. To get this debris and plaque before it builds up into something more serious, you’ll need to floss.

If you’ve been afraid to try flossing due to the bleeding, you should really get over that fear and floss after you brush. To keep your teeth and gums healthy, you’ll to brush and floss your teeth. Regular checkups with your dentist will help as well, although it is up to you to continue your regular maintenance at home with flossing and brushing. If you floss on a daily basis – you’ll quickly realize just how clean your teeth and gums will be.

If you grind or clench your teeth during night, you are affected by a condition known as bruxism, a pathology due to stress. This teeth grinding problem can cause wearing out of the teeth!

Teeth grinding, also called bruxism, affects 15 – 20 % of the population. Two types of bruxism exist, and take place during our sleep. The first type is known as Centered bruxism – a motionless teeth clenching. This sort of reaction could lead sometimes to jaw muscles pains or stiffness when you wake.

The second type is Off-centered bruxism, which is more embarrassing, either for your bed partner or for the safety of your teeth : it is similar to chewing without any chewing-gum, that is teeth clenching with jaw displacements.

When you clench your jaws:

• The elevator muscles are contracted
• The teeth endure significant pressure

In case of bruxism, various symptoms could appear:

• A hypertrophy of your facial muscles is often observed expanding the way a bodybuilder’s muscles would when working out. This can cause a pain that can extend up to the skull, to the neck and even to the back. One feels tiredness when waking up and a somewhat difficulty to wide open one’s mouth
• Articulations of cracks, ledges, deviation and limitation of mouth opening
• Wear, cracks and vertical fractures on teeth, that could lead to tooth extraction
• Receding gums (support bone loss)
• Looseness of teeth

Oral health and maintenance of the same is a very important part of a healthy lifestyle. Prevention and correction of dental problems on time is essential to stem the damage to one of the most important organs of the human body. Many people do not realize the importance of maintaining their oral health. Again, as bruxors, we have to take special care to ensure that our teeth are well protected, because the effects of teeth grinding can really wear down our teeth

Most Americans who do are without effective dental coverage. This is mainly due to cutting costs by major businesses effecting employee dental benefits. People who are used to regular maintenance of dental health are looking at options where they can get dental benefits. One main question on their minds today is “How do benefits differ between Dental Insurance and Discount Dental Plans?”

Dental insurance is not available for individuals and families. Is traditionally a coverage offered by employers to their employees who pay monthly premiums for fixed coverage. This kind of coverage has drawbacks – ceiling on spending, deductible or non-reimbursable issues, and waiting periods for certain kind of dental procedures, limitations and care or disease exclusions. This kind of coverage also involves submission of claims. Dental Insurance traditionally covers preventive dental services like cleaning and routine examinations at 100% after deductibles are adjusted (they may vary from $20-$50 annually per individual). However, the choice of the dentist is up to the individual and premium is about $30 a month for individuals and $100 a month for families.

Discount dental plans on the other hand offer dental benefits to everyone and are designed to give access to the dentist networks at discounted rates. They are also known as reduced fee dental plans or affordable dental plans. They are easy to join and does not involve any paperwork. Discount dental plans are generally membership programs that provide coverage on an annual basis with monthly membership fee. Consumers get secured discounts on dental services like exams, routine cleanings, extractions, root canals, fillings, dentures, and braces. They save the consumer 10-60% percent off standard fee of visiting a participating network provider or dentist.

The traditional dental insurance and discounted dental plans can also be clubbed together in certain situations to maximize savings.

After you join a discounted dental plan you can start using the plan immediately without any waiting period. Benefits for most discounted dental plans are activated within 48 hours from enrolling.

When you use the discounted dental plan, make sure you call the empanelled provider dentist for an appointment. When you reach the dentist to keep your appointment, make sure you show the discount dental plan card to the receptionist to avoid confusion, it will ensure that you are charged the discounted rate in the first place.

The payment at the discounted rate is to be made at the time of taking the service. There are no hassles of paperwork and claims as in insurance plans.

I don’t feel the least bit of uncomfort…

…and it’s such a welcome change!

This is my second week using the adjustable mouth guard that I bought from Amazon. Check out the reviews, it’s not just me, but many other people are loving this custom comfortable mouth guard, shown below. It goes for just $42, and it’s adjustable! This is probably the most comfortable mouth guard for relieving sleep bruxism.

It doesn’t keep me from worrying though. It seems like I’ll have to always wear a night mouth guard to sleep to mitigate the pain and discomfort of my teeth grinding problem. Well, I’m still looking for a cure for my bruxism condition, and until I find it, I guess there’s no choice but to wear my night teeth guard.

The SleepRight Night Mouth Guard is typically worn during the night, but can also be worn during daytime. Teeth grinding and teeth clenching can happen at any time including daytime, especially when you are busy working, or in a stressful status, when you are watching a film, or doing some sports or studying etc.

To fit the mouth guard, simply adjust both sides of the SleepRight Night Mouth Guard according to your dental morphology and chose one of the four setting positions. That’s the benefit of an adjustable mouth guard!

Remember that the thermal strip must be correctly positioned according to your lower incisors, to your gum and to your lower lip. Do make sure that the adjustment must be the same on both sides. It is prohibited for children below 14 years old to wear SleepRight.

You might also be pleased to know that SleepRight Night Mouth Guards comes in 3 types. SleepRight Advance is recommended for a standard or a big mouth. SleepRight Advance is harder, more stable and more comfortable as it is designed for long term usage.

SleepRight Standard is recommended for standard mouths and a mid-extended bruxism. SleepRight Low-profile is recommended for small mouths, a mid-extended bruxism, and is designed to be worn during daytime and / or for sensitive gums.

As a bruxor myself, I highly recommend the use of a night mouth guard, because the damage to your teeth otherwise would be disastrous. The advantages or benefits of using a night mouth guard such as the SleepRight Night Mouth Guuard:

1. A mouthpiece adjusted to fit your own mouth
2. Easily fitted into your mouth and worn daily
3. Protects your teeth from damage caused by teeth grinding and teeth clenching
4. Best quality / price ratio when compared to professional night mouthpieces sold by dentists
5. Can be worn during non combat-sports like golf, tennis, cycling, walking, archery, etc
6. Latex-free

SleepRight Night Mouth Guuard has been designed by a dental technology specialist and is worn all over the world by thousand people affected by bruxism or teeth grinding.

Most night teeth guards will do what they advertise — protect your teeth. However, to protect teeth from clenching and grinding is one thing — breaking a bad neuromuscular habit to control teeth clenching and teeth grinding is entirely another.

You will also need to learn to develop a new approach to prevent bruxism and stop it totally. One way is by conditioning yourself. A suggestion is to wear the SleepRight Night Guard 30-60 minutes before sleep. Keep your “lips together and teeth apart” while in our conscious state of mind, never allowing the teeth to bite down on the bitepads.

This will increase your natural awareness of the habit to clench and grind your teeth. Conscious awareness of “lips together, teeth apart” is necessary for the brain to make the appropriate changes to relax while you sleep.

The SleepRight Night Guard bitepads will establish the space that should exist naturally between your teeth when you are relaxed. Do not bite down on the bitepads — this is very important, so your concentration will be tested.

The SleepRight Night Guard does not attach to the teeth. The soft strap and learning to control the muscles of the mouth will keep the appliance in place. If you find evidence of teeth clenching and teeth grinding on the bitepads, then it means that you must double your efforts and concentrate on the “lips together, teeth apart” state of mind.

The human brain does not distinguish between good and bad learning — it just learns. You must repeat the desirable model of “lips together, teeth apart” until it is a healthy habit, no longer needing your conscious supervision. Your ultimate goal is to eliminate the dependency on a night guard as soon as possible. Everyone’s learning curve is different, so do be patient.