Mouthguards Spokane, WA
Bruxism is a dental condition that displays through symptoms of teeth clenching or grinding, generally while sleeping. Most often, teeth grinding is a reactionary response to stress, and is a temporary condition, many of our patients may be unaware that they are doing it. Though done for limited amounts of time, the effects of it can be serious harm to your teeth.The intense pressure or motion of bruxism will harm your teeth, as well as exhausting or injuring jaw muscles and soft tissues in or around your jaw. At NorthView Family Dental, one of our dentists, Dr. Leale or Dr. Startin, can help. They can both repair the damage that has been done and help stop future problems with a customized nightguard. A nightguard that has been created to fit your mouth is comfortable and easy.
Am I clenching or grinding my teeth?
You may have recently woken and felt strange effects in your mouth that you question may be symptoms of bruxism. There are indicators that you can feel which may be signs that you are clenching your teeth, or grinding them, while sleeping. Some common indications of bruxism include:
| • | A release of pressure, the feeling that you had been clenching and now are relaxing your jaw muscles. |
| • | Soreness in your jaw, almost an exhaustion in your jaw muscles. |
| • | Pain or damage to your soft inner cheek tissue, possibly from chewing on your cheeks. |
| • | Pain or damage to your lips, possibly from chewing on your lips. |
| • | Tooth pain or sensitivity, fractures can occur in your teeth from strong pressure. |
| • | Patients who have other biting habits such as chewing on pencils, biting fingernails, or known to chew on your cheeks. |
| • | A visual indication of flattened, damaged or worn teeth. |
Why do I have bruxism?
Bruxism is generally a temporary condition that may last days or weeks, but usually not months or years. The most common cause that has been associated with bruxism is a patient being under unusual stress, anxiety or tension. Patients may be going through a change, new job, new relationship, new responsibilities, or just feelings of being overwhelmed in day to day events.
Additional factors that have been attributed to bruxism include, misaligned teeth, your sleep positioning, your posture or even your diet. What’s more, teeth clenching or teeth grinding has been more commonly found in female patients.
If it’s temporary, can I just ignore these symptoms and wait for them to go away?
Though bruxism is generally a short lived condition, ignoring the signs can have some hugely negative side effects. The damage from clenching or grinding your teeth can mean for some large, and expensive, dental restoration work.
We may need to place one or more dental crowns on flattened, broken or fractured teeth, we may need to perform root canals on teeth that have fractures and then bacteria was worked its way inside your tooth, or in severe cases, we may have to extract teeth that are beyond repair. Other effects can also come into play because of bruxism.
Some patients have experienced insomnia, severe headaches, eating disorders, and even depression resulting from bruxism. If the disorder does not correct itself after a short period of time, bruxism can contribute to TMJ (temporomandibular joint) dysfunction, which has a long list of side effects associated with pain in the head and neck.
We can help with the frustration of bruxism. Contact Robert Leale, DDS or Brett Startin, DDS, at our Spokane, WA 99208 office for more information. (509) 590-1763
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