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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Posted in Medical Research, Symptoms and Diagnosis, Teeth Grinding, Treatments | No Comments »
Jul 12

A lot of people suspect they grind their teeth, but aren’t 100% sure. After all they are asleep when it’s supposed to be happening. So here is a guide on how to find out if you are suffering from night time teeth grinding or not.

The simplest way to diagnose night time teeth grinding is simply to notice yourself doing it. Quite possibly why you are on this blog in the first place.


But it is very easy to not notice this in yourself  and it is VERY risky not to do anything about it. So here are some ways of diagnosis :

  • Do you have a family history of grinding teeth in sleep?
  • Are you under a great deal of job or life stress?
  • Do you sleep walk or do you have nightmares at night?
  • Do you clench your teeth when you are angry?
  • Do you drink a great deal of caffeine or eat a lot of chocolate?
  • Do you smoke?
  • Do you drink alcohol, particularly in the evening?
  • Do you use cocaine or Ecstasy?
  • Do you work the graveyard shift?
  • Do you take antidepressants like SSRIs?
  • Are your teeth out of alignment?
  • Do you snore or do you have blocked nasal passages?

If you answered yes to three or more of these questions, it is a possibility that you suffer from some degree of teeth grinding.

One of the biggest problems with teeth grinding during sleep is that it is a subconscious behavior so that unless someone tells the person that they grind their teeth; or unless the person themselves has an awareness of the condition, it often goes undiagnosed.

The best way to diagnose teeth clenching is a good dental exam, looking for signs of wear on the teeth, particularly on the chewing surfaces of the teeth.  Fractured teeth can be seen as well.

In some cases, nocturnal bruxism can be diagnosed by doing a sleep study where the individual is monitored while sleeping.  The tooth grinding can be picked up just by watching the individual as he or she sleeps.  The dentist can identify misaligned teeth, which is a common cause.

A simple way of diagnosing night teeth grinding is through the use of something called a BiteStrip. It is an in-home device that can help diagnose the condition before it does damage to the teeth.  The device is a miniature electromyogram machine (the machine that creates ‘dive bomber’ sound) that can sense jaw muscle activity while a patient is sleeping.
The dentist can use the outcome of the test to detect the frequency of the bruxing and the test can therefore diagnose the disease.

The diagnosis is not always easy unless an individual is observed doing the behavior.

The dentist can find signs of it, including flattening of the bite surface of the teeth, indentations of the tongue, or tooth sensitivity due to exposure of the dentin of the teeth.

While you may think it is pretty easy to ’self diagnose’, like any medical problem it’s always best to check with a health care professional.

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Jul 12

Teeth Grinding can produce numerous symptoms. Here are some questions to ask yourself to see if you have any of them .

  • Do I have painful teeth in the morning?

  • Do I feel pain around the upper jaw below the temples while eating?
  • Does my jaw hurt in the morning?
  • Have my teeth flattened and worn away?
  • Do I have unexplained chips in my teeth?
  • Do I have frequent headaches?

  • Are my teeth sensitive to cold and citrus?
  • Do I awaken frequently during the night?

For a dentist the most obvious sign of tooth grinding is a typical wear pattern on the chewing surfaces of the teeth after prolonged periods of teeth grinding.  Wearing and fractures of the teeth can occur in severe cases, and tooth loss is not out of the question (I should know,it happened to me).

In typical cases of teeth grinding at night, the canine teeth and the incisors (the teeth at the front of the mouth which cut the food) are rubbed across one another causing damage to the inside and chewing surface of the teeth.

As time goes on, grinding your teeth can shorten and blunt the teeth that are being ground down by the excessive chewing behavior. The cusps of the chewing surfaces of the back teeth can become worn down as well.

The muscles involved in bruxism are the same ones that affect the temporomandibular joint. This is the jaw joint just next to (or anterior to) the ear, and is also known as ‘TMJ’.  This is a very strong joint but, over time, it can become inflamed from overuse as seen in night tooth grinding.
This, in turn, can yield to headaches caused by the TMJ inflammation.  Arthritis of the TMJ is possible in very severe cases.

The vast majority of bruxers do not know that they have the condition and fortunately, only 5-10 percent of the total go on to develop more severe symptoms like headache and jaw pain.

Usually, it is only at a visit to the dentist’s office that the problem is uncovered.

If you think you or a loved one suffers, you need to do something and get an accurate diagnosis. If nothing else to confirm whether or not you should be worried.

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