Aug 17

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Coping with Tooth Grinding.

A 2007 study looked at coping skills when compared to those without the disorder.  It looked at a group of bruxers and a control group to determine their coping strategies.  Using the German coping questionnaire, it was found that there was a significant difference in the coping strategies in bruxers when compared to controls.

There appeared to be less functional coping in bruxers when compared to controls.  This points to the possible benefit of psychotherapy in the treatment of some individuals.

A Definitive Treatment for Bruxism?

A 1997 review study looked at all the different treatments as to their effectiveness.  The study noted that there is no definitive treatment for the disorder.   The study compared patients using oral devices and patients taking medication (clonidine).

It determined that both methods were helpful in reducing effects of bruxism but that mandibular advancement devices and clonidine had some adverse effects linked to them.  The occlusal splint was therefore felt to be the recommended treatment of choice.

It also said that clonazepam treatment was effective but felt that because it can cause dependency, it should be a lesser used treatment.

Splints.

Another 2007 study looked at the effectiveness of occlusal splints on controlling bruxism.  They looked at a comparison between alternative treatments, occlusive splints and no treatment.  Some of the treatments used were the palatal splint, the mandibular advancement device a TENS unit (which blocks pain signals in the face) and no treatment.

It was found that the occlusal splint did not improve sleep outcome but that it was effective in reducing tooth wear.  In other words, the grinding was still occurring but there was less damage to teeth as a result.

Antidepressants.

A 2007 Netherlands study reported on fourteen reports it had on SSRIs (antidepressants) causing new cases of bruxism.  It noted that there have been several reports in the literature of SSRIs causing bruxism and recommended that bruxism be asked about as a possible side effect in patients who have been prescribed this type of drug.

There are hundreds of studies out there on this subject and some disagree with one another.  This is partly because the condition is difficult to treat and there is no single way of treating it that everyone can turn to.

Each case is unique and the sufferer must look for a way to treat it that works the best for them.

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Aug 2

Here are some more summaries of Teeth Grinding research that has been done. Any thoughts or questions then please let us now. More coming soon…. :)

Sleep Study.

A study in 2003 looked at doing polysomnography or sleep studies in patients with possible bruxism who had dental implants.  Such patients often had loosening of their implants and misplacement of their implants due to possible bruxing behavior.

A study group was treated to polysomnography to see whether or not the sleep study would be able to identify the night time teeth grinding.  In fact, the sleep study was an excellent way to identify bruxism in patients with dental implants.

Presumably, polysomnography would be a good way to detect nocturnal bruxism in patients without implants as well.

Groaning.

Bruxism and nocturnal groaning were compared in a January, 2008, study.  Nocturnal groaning is a nocturnal monotonous sound occurring during the expiratory phase of breathing.

While nocturnal groaning is less common than teeth griding, the two behaviors have been found to be closely linked.  This means that if a sleep partner notices nocturnal groaning sounds, an evaluation should be undertaken to make sure that undiscovered bruxism doesn’t exist.

Sleep Arousal.

A 1998 study found that bruxism is related to sleep arousal.  In normal sleep, there are transient arousals occurring at 20-40 second intervals.  During sleep studies of bruxism patients and comparing the studies to controls, it was found that bruxers showed a marked increase in the number of transient sleep arousals during the night.

A total of 88 percent of episodes occurred during non-REM sleep, which is when sleep arousal occurs.  Leg jerking was noticed during episodes as well.  It appears from this study that bruxers don’t get a solid night’s rest when compared to normal controls.

Bite Splints.

A 1999 study looked at the various bite splints for bruxism and especially looked at the risks of using such splints.  It was found that there was a risk of tooth damage when using mandibular (lower jaw) splints for more than a couple of months.

According to the study, the splint should be a temporary measure during which time the patient should be working on stress reduction or the fixing of malocclusion of the teeth.  The recommendation didn’t differentiate between the materials used to make the bite splints, which can be made from composite, acrylic or silicon.

A related study indicated that oral splints should be used as temporary crutches for those with bruxism and/or TMJ dysfunction.

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Jul 13

Teeth Grinding (also known as Bruxism) is a part of the active medical research world and there are researchers all over the world looking into all aspects of this disorder.
Looking at what the latest research is uncovering can provide you with some great insight into the disorder.  Here are some of the latest studies.

Shift Work may be your problem.

A February, 2008 study looked at the prevalence of sleep quality and insufficient sleep problems in patients with self-reported bruxism, particularly in employees who did nighttime shift work.

Bruxism was reported in 10.6 percent of all subjects, who also reported difficulties getting to sleep (16.8 percent) and disrupted sleep (46.7 percent).

Frequent bruxism was positively correlated with difficulty getting to sleep and disrupted sleep, as well as with dissatisfaction with one’s work schedule.  Researchers were unable to tell if the bruxism caused the sleep disorders or whether the sleep problems contributed to bruxism.

It was apparent that shift work was positively correlated with the existence of bruxism.

No link with TMJ disease?

A January, 2008, a study looked into the correlation between bruxism and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disease.  They found healthy controls and compared them to people who had known TMJ disease.

After having all subjects go through a sleep study, they found no particular correlation between those who had TMJ disease and normal controls.  This basically means that there are other causes of TMJ disease other than bruxism.

BruxChecker.

A 2006 study looked at the usefulness of a device known as a BruxChecker that helped determine if an individual with typical tooth damage of bruxism really had the condition.

It was found that the BruxChecker was able to detect specific grinding patterns and to visualize real or actual interferences during sleep.

The BruxChecker was able to identify the grinding pattern, able to make it easier for doctors and dentists to define the best treatment for the bruxer.

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