
Bruxism is known as teeth grinding, either during the day or while sleeping. It occurs when the upper teeth are tightly clenched with the lower ones, and they also move from back to front and vice versa, generally unconsciously. It usually happens at night while we sleep and what we perceive when we get up is jaw pain or even headache.
Although some people have no symptoms, bruxism can cause:
- Jaw, ear, and jaw pain.
- Temporomandibular joint problems.
- Headache.
- Anxiety.
- Tension.
- Tooth sensitivity to cold, heat, and sweet foods.
- Insomnia.
- Inadequate alignment of teeth.
- Feeding.
- The posture.
- Sleep habits etc.
- Relaxation exercises.
- Application of ice or hot cloths to the area where the pain occurs.
- Avoid eating hard and sweet foods.
- Drink a lot of water.
- Massage the areas where the pain occurs.
- Sleep well.
PREVENTS TEETH GRINDING FROM GOING FURTHER
The main trigger is stress since the tension builds up in the jaw, which uses the night to release it by clenching the teeth. To avoid the problem or at least stop it:- Do relaxation and stretching exercises for your jaw muscles. Try this one, for example: stretch your neck by lifting your chin and pulling your jaw forward. Stay in this position for 5 seconds and relax. Repeat 10 times.
- Give yourself a self-massage to relax the muscles around your jaw. Bring the two index fingers from the earlobes to the cheeks and repeat 15 times.
- Do not chew gum often because the damage could be aggravated.
- The use of discharge splints is common. It is a piece of resin made to measure, that the affected person must be placed between the teeth before bed. Thanks to it, the jaw is more relaxed and the teeth protected.
- If the denture is damaged, using porcelain crowns (a kind of dental caps) helps to regain the shape of the teeth and prevent wear.