It is not unusual for people to only realise they are suffering from bruxism (teeth grinding) when the symptoms and the damage appears.
Damaged teeth is the classic sign of bruxism, after that the symptoms can vary from person to person.
Remedies include treating the general symptoms (e.g. painkillers), dealing with damage (e.g. mouthguards), and looking for solutions (e.g. meditation). Some of these are traditional treatments, some are alternative treatments.
A List of Common Symptoms
- Sensitive Teeth: Especially recently sensitive teeth. This is a very common symptom, with the pain being experienced in the gums when exposed to cold or hot foods and drinks.
- Exposed Dentine on Teeth: Another consequence of the grinding is exposure of the underlying dentine of the teeth.
- Flattened Teeth: Grinding flattens the teeth, the wear is known as dental attrition.
- Intense clenching / grinding of teeth: Most of the time, the
- clenching of teeth is involuntarily and without their knowledge. Teeth clenching usually happens at night although it may occur during the day as well.
- Earache: Earache due to bruxism is primarily caused by the contraction of the jaw muscles. It just so happen that when the jaws move constantly and involuntarily the muscle that connects to the ear suffers as well.
- Headaches: People who have bruxism may also suffer from headaches, due to muscular contractions.
- Chipped Teeth: As a consequence of the teeth grinding, it is not uncommon for sufferers of bruxism to have chipped teeth.
- Pain and Stiff Jaws: Most damage associated with bruxism is in the mouth and jaw area. This can be everything from muscle strain to TMJ.
- Facial pain: Aside from earaches and headaches, facial pain is also common with people suffering from bruxism. Although it is the mouth that is most affected, every irregular movement of the jaws and teeth affects the muscular structures near it; that includes the whole area of the face. Pain in the facial muscles is very common with people suffering from bruxism. Pain in the cheeks may occur as they’re next to the mouth . Pain in ears due to muscle strain and jaw movement is also common.
