Many people grind their teeth, or clench jaw from time to time. Typically, men and women both will find themselves doing those habits when there are angry, stressed or tensed. Some people grind their teeth when they are sleeping. The medical term for teeth grinding is bruxism, and this is usually no big deal for most people, but when teeth grinding starts to occur on a regular basis, it can cause major problems quickly. 

 

Teeth grinding is harmful because it can cause you to have headaches, sore jaw, fitful sleep, and excessive wear on your teeth. Chronic teeth grinding has been known to wear teeth down to stumps causing patients to need crowns, bridges, implants, and even dentures in extreme cases.

 

How Do I Stop?

 

Your Antioch family dentist can have a custom mouth guard made for you. He or she will fit you for one that you will wear while you are sleeping that will stop you from grinding your teeth. You should also talk to your primary care physician about the amount of stress and anxiety in your life. You may benefit from counseling, exercising more often, or need muscle relaxants. You may also need a sleep aide if you are suffering from insomnia. There are many reasons that the teeth grinding could be happening, but once you have a regulated sleep pattern, the grinding will get a lot better if that has been one of the main issues for you. 

 

Another reason people grind their teeth is from too much internal anxiety. Most people don’t even realize they have this happening and it could be because of caffeine and sugar, a kind of nervous energy. Try to avoid or cut back on coffee, chocolate, soda, alcohol, and sugary drinks and foods. You should also avoid chewing on things such as your nails, gum, pencils, and try to keep your jaw as relaxed as possible throughout the day. You can also try laying down with a warm wash cloth on your jawline, right below your ear and massaging your neck before bed every evening. This can help to relieve tension in your neck and jaw, relaxing the muscles, and lessening the amount of teeth grinding you do in your sleep.