Imagine going to the dentist for a routine checkup only to find out that there is wearing of the chewing of your teeth you didn’t know you had. Your dentist asks you if you grind your teeth and you’re embarrassed to admit that you do not know.
You ask your partner later, who admits you sometimes grind your teeth in your sleep and that he or she has noticed you clench your jaw a lot when you’re stressed out.
You very well may have bruxism (the medical term for night time teeth grinding), a relatively common condition of adults and children in which there is grinding or gnashing of the teeth under certain conditions.
Perhaps you’ve had it for years and now it is starting to show up in your dental visits. Perhaps it’s a condition that you inherited from a parent or other relative as grinding of teeth is inherited in some conditions. Whether or not, the name of what you’re now called is a bruxer.
Night teeth grinding occurs in 10 percent of the adult population and occurs in nearly 50 percent of children.
It is the result of a rhythmic motion of the chewing muscles that occurs, for the most part, subconsciously and isn’t picked up unless someone notices it happening or unless a dentist notices tooth damage occurring.
Other side effects of nocturnal bruxism can bring a bruxer to medical attention. Side effects like headaches and problems with the TMJ in the jaw can lead one to seek medical attention.
Bruxism can be part of a range of sleep disorders like sleep walking, nightmares and bed wetting.
It can be mild and easily manageable or it can be severe, causing arthritis of the TMJ and severe tooth damage.
There are a range of treatments available. Ranging from lifestyle adjustments (such as lessening the amount of alcohol drunk) to wearing a bruxism mouthguard, to taking medication.
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