Occasional teeth grinding is usually associated with stress and isn’t really anything to worry about. However, if you’re grinding your teeth through the night and experience chronic headaches or shoulder and neck pain upon waking, you may benefit from a simple oral appliance available at THE Smile Lounge.
Chronic clenching and grinding of your teeth isn’t just annoying; it can actually create serious oral health problems. Some of these are misalignment of your dental bite, chipped or cracked teeth, and even TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder).
Teeth grinding (also referred to as bruxism or bruxing) may be caused by injury or trauma to the temporomandibular joint, a misaligned dental bite, or muscle tension.
A misaligned dental bite can result in excess force placed on one side of your mouth. When this occurs, you don’t bite down evenly on all teeth, and your jaw has to shift from its normal position to bring the rest of your teeth together.
A thorough exam with Dr. Breaux is the best way to evaluate your situation and pinpoint the underlying cause for your grinding and clenching. In many cases, we can customize a simple appliance called an occlusal splint that will prevent your teeth from coming into contact with each other during sleep.