If you grind your teeth on a nightly basis, this could do more than just irritate your significant other. Regular grinding and clenching, known as bruxism, could be a recipe for a chipped or cracked tooth. To avoid major complications with your oral health, your Richfield, MN, dentist could discuss treatment with an oral appliance.
The Factors Behind Teeth Grinding
Why do we start to grind our teeth on such a frequent basis? Well, the factors vary and often include issues that alter the balance of your bite or place strain on your jaw joints. For example, untreated TMJ disorder, missing teeth, dental misalignment, or even an injury to the face or jaw, could be factors. If you have high levels of stress or anxiety in your daily life, this could be a major cause as well. Part of your treatment will include us examining your smile for signs of wear and friction, and identifying the factors behind your bruxism. Once we diagnose them, we will be able to prescribe the best treatment option!
The Potential Dangers
Bruxism places major pressures on the balance and health of your smile. For example, this could begin to damage the outer enamel, cracking and chipping the teeth. The teeth could also appear shorter than usual. The damage exposes the sensitive inner layers of dentin, which means your tooth is more likely to develop tooth decay or an infection, which in turn could mean worsening discomfort and even missing teeth! Warning signs could include jaw pain, facial and neck aches, toothaches and sensitive teeth, headaches and migraines, and someone close to you could alert you to your nightly grinding and clenching.
Treating Your Bruxism
If one or more of the symptoms we discussed above apply to you, then please contact our team right away. We could employ orthodontics to correct misalignment and ease pressure, and we could boost bite balance with the placement of a dental crown. A custom-made oral appliance could also be worn at night. The device is custom-fitted for your smile, offering a cozy fit as it eases pressure and prevents further damage by placing a barrier between the upper and lower sets of teeth.
If you have any questions about how we treat issues like teeth grinding, or if you experience symptoms we discussed, then contact our team today to learn more. We would love to help you enjoy better oral health!
Talk To Your Richfield, MN Dentist About Bruxism
To protect your smile from tooth decay and infection, we could offer solutions to teeth grinding and also repair any damage. To find out more about how we treat bruxism, TMD, and other oral health concerns, contact your Richfield, MN, dentist, Dr. Keller, by calling (612) 861-7188.
