Bruxism is a disorder in which you grind, gnash or clench your teeth. If you have bruxism, you may unconsciously clench your teeth when you are awake (daytime bruxism) or you may clench or grind your teeth while you sleep (nighttime bruxism).
Bruxism is very frequent in children (juvenile bruxism), without being considered pathological at that age, but a natural form of development of the dentition and a stimulus of muscular and bone development of the facial bones, tending to disappear when reaching the second decade of life.
However, in adulthood, the bruxing habit can cause multiple problems depending on the frequency and intensity.
Sleep bruxism is the grinding and clenching of teeth during sleep. When the person wakes up, he/she usually suffers from pain in the jaw, ears, headache, among others.
Having sleep bruxism can make you more prone to sleep apnea (pauses in breathing) and snoring.
There are 2 types of bruxism:
Centric bruxism: this is when teeth are clenched, that is, force is applied up and down and vice versa.
Eccentric bruxism: This is when the teeth are rubbed from one side to the other. They slide causing wear and tear mostly on the incisors.
A person can suffer from both types at the same time.
To treat bruxism, you can use mouth guards, which are mouth guards that are placed between the upper and lower teeth during sleep. Facial exercises, meditation, yoga or cranial physiotherapy can also be done.
Daytime treatment:
Some of our suggestions are:
– Reduce the consumption of certain beverages such as, for example: alcohol, caffeine, soft drinks, since the consumption of these products does not help to calm a person, but rather the opposite.
– Meditate
– Try not to chew objects that are not food, for example: pencils and pens.
– Exercise
– Undergoing orthodontic treatment to correct dental position.
Overnight treatment:
At Ideal dental we care about our pascieents so we recommend conservative treatments and measures to follow, and if they are not sufficient, we follow with infiltrations (arthrocentesis), closed surgery (arthroscopy) and ultimately and in certain conditions open surgery. The initial conservative treatments are:
– Eating soft foods
– Avoid nail biting and chewing gum.
– Applying heat to painful areas.
– Relaxation techniques to control jaw tension such as biofeedback or meditation.
Remember to visit Mexico and we visit to perform dental treatments with high quality standards for lower prices in: Ideal Dental