It is normal to grind or clench your teeth occasionally. However, it can quickly become a problem when teeth grinding occurs several times a day on a daily basis. This can cause serious damage to your teeth and overall oral health. If you are one of these teeth-grinding individuals you may be wondering—now what? To find relief from teeth grinding, brush up the following steps.
Figure out the root of the problem:
Teeth grinding can be caused by many different factors including stress, anxiety and an abnormal bite. Many people who grind their teeth do so when they are sleeping. If you suffer from a sleeping disorder, this may also be contributing to your teeth grinding. If your jaw aches or you have headaches when you wake up from a night’s rest, it can be a key indicator that you are grinding your teeth in your sleep.
Sometimes this step is not easy to identify on your own, so consulting with your dentist may help you get to the root of your teeth grinding.
Assess the teeth damage:
Once you discover you are grinding your teeth, you should visit your dentist to see if your teeth grinding has caused any harm to your oral health or teeth. In some cases, teeth grinding can cause the loosening or cracking of teeth. Over time, teeth grinding will also wear teeth down to have fewer ridges and become “stumps”. If you have already existing crowns, fillings, bridges, or root canals your teeth grinding may impact that as well.
Having a dentist assess your mouth after teeth grinding will allow you to know the status of your teeth, what to do to reverse the effects of teeth grinding, and how to overcome it.
Take action to stop teeth grinding:
This is easier said than done, but following these simple tips can help you quickly overcome teeth grinding:
- Wear a mouth guard: This can be purchased to be fitted to your mouth to protect your teeth from grinding during sleep.
- Reduce stress: If you believe stress is causing your teeth grinding habits, you may want to reduce factors that cause stress. You can do this by attending stress counseling, exercising, or seeing a therapist.
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol: Although this seems unrelated to teeth grinding, caffeinated beverages and foods and alcohol have been shown in studies to cause individuals to grind their teeth more.
Once making these changes and following these steps, you will see a vast improvement in not only your oral health but your sleep, appearance of teeth, and overall well-being. If you think you may be grinding your teeth or want to schedule an appointment with a dentist, please contact Artistic Dental at the Biltmore by calling (602) 840-5400 or emailing frontoffice@artisticd.com