When you try to define bruxism, it is often defined as the grinding and clinching of the teeth. Bruxism has an affect on upwards of 35 million people in the US from children through to adults. Much of the classic symptom of teeth grinding happens at night when a person is asleep. This is called “nocturnal bruxism” or “sleep related bruxism”.  Some others might have this reflexive practice of teeth grinding during the day.  In short, Bruxism defines a symptom (teeth grinding ) of a problem that has a myriad of causes and is closely linked to anxiety and stress. Some experts even go so far as to say that it is just a bad habit that people get into and has no underlying cause.

The commonly held belief is that Bruxism can be caused due to stress but also might be an instinctive response due to misalignment of teeth.  Bruxism can also be a signal of some of the rare neuromuscular diseases that involves the face.

In certain uncommon cases, bruxism can be an after effect of certain medicines used for treating depression, such as Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft.  People having habitual bruxism can even cause a breakage in fillings in restored teeth.  When the teeth are chafed together it causes the outer most enamel layers to erode thus, exposing the dentin, and causing tooth sensitivity.  Severe bruxism can also be a frequent cause of dysfunction of the jaws, unexplained morning headaches and frustrating facial pain.

A couple of the more frequent symptoms of bruxism are rhythmical tightening of your jaw muscles, grinding sounds while sleeping that might cause sleep disruptions for the person lying next to you, and an unexplained headache in the morning. Other symptoms include tightening or pain of the jaw muscles during the morning, long-lasting facial pain, damaged teeth, breaking of fillings, injured gums as well as pain in the jaw joints.

If you have been experiencing any of these dental problems, you should arrange an appointment with your local dentist.

Your dentist might ask you some general questions pertaining to your dental health, about stress in your life and if you are under any medication.  If you have a partner, the dentist might also ask a few questions to him/her regarding your sleeping habits. Principally if there are any unusual grinding sounds that keep him/her awake at night.

After that, your dental practitioner will closely observe you, with attention to the mouth and the jaw regions. During examination, your dentist will also watch for any tenderness in the jaw muscles and the joints as well.  Your dentist might further look for any other abnormalities like, broken teeth, hapless alignment of teeth or absent teeth.

The dentist will be able to determine the extent of any damage caused. This will precipitate fixing the damaged teeth if needed and setting up a way to manage the bruxism condition, like using a teeth grinding guard for instance.