Grinding Teeth While Sleep

Apart from being disturbing, the grinding and clenching the teeth throughout the night while asleep may cause problems with your teeth, gums, and general health.

You might know the sensation of waking with sore gums, a tight jaw, or even tension headaches.  Not really what you can call a good nights rest.

Severe cases may result in long term damage, usually jaw or teeth related, where jaws may become misaligned, and teeth excessively worn down.

How Do You Know You Grind at Night?

Sometimes it is not obvious what is wrong with you if you suffer from bruxism as you are asleep.  We can’t tell what happens when we are asleep, for example, do we snore?  Do we talk in our sleep?  Do we grind out teeth?

Often the symptoms of the condition can be quite general (i.e., headaches, tiredness) and it might take some investigation to come to the right result.  More obvious symptoms such as damaged teeth help with diagnosis, but only after a certain amount of damage has already been done.

When you discover / are diagnosed with grinding teeth, you should react as soon as possible to minimise the damage.

Can We Cure Teeth Grinding (Bruxism)?

Bruxism is considered both a medical and a dental problem, but many experts believe that it is a condition that is very difficult to completely cure, but it is very treatable.  Part of the problem with a ‘cure’ is that the causes of teeth grinding may be very different for each patient.  In truth many people do not know the reason why they suffer from bruxism.

That is not to say there are very successful treatments, and your medical practitioner will guide you to what suits your own needs.  For example, some people use meditation to relax, reducing the condition significantly.  Others will try this only for it to fail, and they then try other alternatives.

My recommendation may seem obvious, but if something doesn’t work, try something else, there is something that works for everyone!

Bruxism Sufferers Should Use Mouth Guards

One of the most common treatments, which does not cure anything but can completely alleviate the symptoms is the use of a mouth guard.  These are normally suggested by your Dentist as a first line of defence.

You can buy them anywhere, and the range of costs varies greatly.  Pick one that you can mould to your own teeth, and use them. Amazon has a great selection, such as M3 Naturals Mouth Guard, which has features like:

• Enjoy a Quiet and Peaceful Rest at Night – Our mouth guards are the ideal solution for nighttime teeth grinding, clenching, allowing you to sleep continuously through the night.
• Versatile and Heavy Duty – M3 Naturals offers the only Heavy Duty option and includes a retainer case! With 4 guards and 3 sizes you will certainly find the fit that works best for any purpose you see fit. Teeth grinding, athletic sports, mouth guards, or even as a teeth whitening tray!
• Customize Your Fit – Each mouth guard is easily trimmed to fit any mouth size. Can be adapted to fit a wide variety of teeth alignments, tooth sizes & mouth shapes for optimal comfort.
• Moldable Fit to prevent Bruxism and Clenching: The ultra-comfort guard relaxes jaw muscles, prevents teeth bite, grinding, clenching and alleviates problems that may cause potential dental injury.