The answer of the above question is unknown. Doctors claim that grinding teeth, which is also called bruxism, is caused by emotional and psychological stress, but they couldn’t explain the causes in detail. It is so far only an assumption. There’s no research evidence to proof this hypothesis.
Exactly, mothers whose children grind their teeth at sleep might see their children will clench their teeth at night when their kids are totally tired after having a very busy day. Therefore, teeth grinding is closely related to fatigue condition.
Doctors will also argue that bruxism is caused by an abnormal bite or missing or crooked teeth, while some others may have different opinion. The opposite group will say that abnormal bite can be the effect of the bruxism, not the underlying cause of the habit. Bruxism is moved by your jaw muscles, not teeth, and the reason why the muscles move unconsciously remains unknown.
Health Problems Because of Teeth Grinding
You may have seen many people around you grinding their teeth when they are sleeping from time to time, but nothing happens with their health condition. If you ask them, why they do it, they will say, “I don’t know.” Their physical performance is great, and it seems nothing to worry.
Grinding teeth is not harmful when the case is just mild. Bruxism will cause damage when the case occurs on a regular basis. Severe bruxism will effect someone’s health, and the arising health problems can be headache, jaw pain, worn-out tooth enamel, toothache, earache, dull teeth, damage to inside of cheeks or tongue, sensitive teeth, and the most complicated problem is temporomandibular joints disorder (TMD).
How to Stop Teeth Grinding
The main cause of the bruxism is unknown, and thus it would be difficult to cure it from the root. Doctors and health practitioners will give some advice that is all related to the emotional and psychological stress reason. It’s easy to say that they will suggest you doing yoga, exercise, relaxation, or other therapies that would help you manage your stress.
Interestingly, most people with bruxism who change their lifestyle to a healthier style report some improvement.
Stress management that is specifically designed for bruxism is called bruxism management. It includes psychoanalysis, hypnosis, autosuggestion, meditation, progressive relaxation, self-monitoring, habit reversal, and sleep hygiene. One of the most successful therapy is hypnosis.
How About Bruxism That Occurs For Years
People who have suffered from bruxism for many years might need more than therapies or self healing treatment. They need a mouth guard. Where can people get the mouth guard? It’s not only dentist who is capable of creating a mouth guard, pharmacy store will also be ready to help you and serve your order online. From the comfort of your home you can get your costume-made mouth guard.
A mouth guard is also called occlusal splints. These splints are made from plastic. Most of pharmacists’ splints can be used immediately without dentist fitting. People with bruxism is advised to use it while they are asleep. For those of you who clench their teeth in the day, splints should be used the whole day. There’s different design between the night splints and the day splints.
The use of splints is considered the most successful treatment in teeth grinding problem. This device is able to reduce jaw muscle activity and the noise of teeth clenching or teeth grinding.
Occlusal Splints And Occlusal Interventions
Splints that are used to help bruxism sufferers are different from splints that are designed for occlusal interventions. Occlusal interventions are prescribed by doctors for people with mandibular problems. This type of splints involve rehabilitation, occlusal equilibrium, and dental treatment. Doctors use it to make a harmonious relationship between occluding surfaces.
People who clench their teeth during sleep, do not have mandibular problem, will only need occlusal splint. The purpose of this splint is only reducing grinding activity. Occlusal splints that are available in stores both online and offline are solutions for bruxism. Because the activities of your jaw muscles are reduced significantly, thus you will get some relief. You will be free of jaw ache, headache when you wake up in the morning.