Author-Dr Aparna Pandya (Mrs India Vivacious 2019)

People presumably grind their teeth or grip them firmly for a while, especially during sleep or during anger. Sometimes grinding your teeth most probably won’t beget any detriment.

But if you regularly grind your teeth, you may have a condition called bruxism. It can hurt your jaw muscles, teeth, temporomandibular joints (TMJs)-which connect your jawbone to your cranium and allow you to open and close your mouth.

Types of bruxism

Bruxism can be when you ’re awake or asleep. The grinding action is the same, but awake and asleep bruxism are considered two separate conditions

• Awake bruxism – The patient grips his jaw and grind his teeth during the day with this condition. It’s generally tied to emotional issues. Feeling anxious, stressed or angry can lead to teeth grinding. But so can concentrating on commodity. Awake bruxism frequently doesn’t need treatment, if you ’re more likely to notice and stop.
• Sleep bruxism- Here the patient grinds the teeth while asleep with this form, which may beget further detriment. He may not get the help h need since he is ignorant about the condition. Another challenge with sleep bruxism is that people don’t realize how strong they ’re clinging their jaw and teeth. They can use up to 250 pounds of force, causing jaw pain and teeth problems. Clinging can also lead to headaches.

Teeth grinding can beget several problems

• Changes the facial profile.
• Fractured or loosened teeth.
• Harming TMJs and jaw and neck muscles.
• Loss of teeth.
• Wearing down of teeth.

Like grown-ups, children can have bruxism. Parents may hear their children grinding their teeth in their sleep. But bruxism in children may not lead to long- term damage. Children’s teeth and jaws change snappily, and they may outgrow bruxism by the time they lose their baby teeth.

Still, some children continue to grind their teeth until their teenage times. And anyhow of age, teeth grinding in children can lead to

• Headaches.
• Jaw pain.
• TMJ diseases- jaw clicking and other problems.
• Wear and tear on the teeth.

While stress is a main cause of bruxism in grown-ups, that’s not generally the case with children. Teeth grinding in children may come from misaligned teeth, Obstructive sleep apnea, heredity.

Bruxism is a common sleep complaint. It affects about 10 of grown-ups and up to 15 of children.

 SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES

There are numerous causes of bruxism, including life habits, similar as drinking alcohol, using cigarettes and recreational medicines, and consuming a lot of caffeine. Other causes include Sleep diseases, Stress and anxiety, taking certain specifics, including a class of anti-anxiety medicines.

Signs of bruxism include

• Sleep disturbances.
• Headaches or facial pain, especially in the morning.
• Earaches.
• Painful or loose teeth.
• Sore jaw muscles.
• Teeth fractures.
• Wear on teeth.
•  TMJ, which sounds like clicking or popping in the jaw.
•  Pain with eating.
• Jaw locking.

Diagnosis

Examine the TMJs, jaw muscles and teeth for signs of bruxism. But in some cases, you may need a sleep study called polysomnography. This test takes place in a sleep centre and can give a definitive opinion.

TREATMENT

There are no specifics to stop teeth grinding. Dentist can provide a night guard.  This customized device has to be placed in mouth before bed. It protects the teeth, muscles and TMJs from the force created during grinding.