What to do about teeth grinding?

Grinding your teeth can cause you to sleep poorly or even have a bad night's rest and wake up with a headache. Do you want to know what you can do about teeth grinding? Then read on! In this blog, we tell you everything you need to know about stopping teeth grinding.

Grinding sound of the teeth: How does it occur?

Teeth grinding, also known as bruxism (medical term), is the rubbing together of the teeth. When grinding, you exert a lot of pressure on the teeth, which can cause damage to the teeth. Not only is it a condition that damages the teeth, but it also has other unpleasant consequences.

Adverse consequences

Adverse consequences of teeth grinding include tension and pain in the jaws, headaches, neck and shoulder complaints, as well as fatigue and poor sleep. It also affects many more people than you might think. Around 10 to 20% of people suffer from teeth grinding, and it often occurs unconsciously while sleeping.

Poor night's sleep

If you grind your teeth, this can disrupt your sleep. As a result, you may sometimes wake up with a headache and experience fatigue.

Sensitive teeth as a sign of teeth grinding

How do you know if or not you grind your teeth? Because it happens in your sleep for most people, it is difficult to recognize. However, there are a number of hints.

The main factors by which you can recognize teeth grinding are waking up in the morning with sensitive teeth, straining of the jaw muscles, and waking up in the morning with a headache.

When you sleep together, there is a good chance your partner will notice this. The reason why grinding teeth is also known as teeth grinding is because you make a grinding sound when you repeat it several times, and that is easily noticeable.

When you go to the dentist, he or she will also notice that abnormal wear has occurred on the teeth (such as wear on pieces of enamel).

What are the consequences of teeth grinding?

Teeth grinding can have many unpleasant consequences. As a result, your teeth may even break, which can lead to troublesome problems. We are really talking about severe additional complaints here. Because you overload the chewing muscles, you can also experience pain in the jaw joint.

In general, you experience the following problems:

• Sleep problems;
• Fatigue;
• Shoulder pain;
• Neck pain;
• Headache;
• Worn teeth;
• Hypersensitive teeth and gums;
• Concentration problems.

You cannot simply stop doing this, so take it absolutely seriously. If it is bothering you, you must learn to cope with it. In the worst case, it can lead to dental problems, but even to serious physical complaints such as fatigue, neck and shoulder pain.

Protect the teeth against further damage

The first important thing you must naturally consider is preventing further damage. There are various options for doing so.

By far the easiest and cheapest way to protect your teeth is to buy a mouthguard to prevent grinding. For advice on the best mouthguards, it is best to consult your dentist. It is also possible that your dentist recommends another method of protection.

Have your teeth repaired by a dentist.

In addition to wanting to prevent more serious damage, you naturally also want to repair the damage you have sustained. The wear marks can be restored by the dentist with white fillings, so the original shape of the teeth can be restored.

Avoid stress and also do relaxation exercises

This helps to put a stop to teeth grinding, and at the same time, it promotes a good night's sleep. Stress and tension are often the main cause of teeth grinding. Things like reducing stressful factors in your life or consulting someone to learn how to manage stress can greatly help reduce teeth grinding.

Also take a critical look at your lifestyle; see if you are getting enough exercise, eating healthily enough, and getting sufficient sleep, and whether you can do something about the stressful factors you face in your daily life. It is easier said than done, that is true, but often there is much more you can do than you think if you take a good look at everything.

We can also recommend relaxation exercises. Even if you experience a lot of stress in your daily life and are unable to do much about it, doing exercises just before going to sleep is a good idea. This has a relaxing effect and reduces feelings of stress before you fall asleep, making you feel better and allowing you to fall asleep more relaxed. Soothing music, a warm bath, or breathing exercises are examples of this.

Leave a number of things alone from now on

It appears that teeth grinding can be related to the overstimulation of your central nervous system. Teeth grinding is therefore essentially a symptom of this. Consequently, you will need to avoid substances that irritate your nervous system if you want to stop grinding your teeth.

• Caffeine (energy drinks, coffee, cola);
• Excessive alcohol consumption;
• Stimulants (Cocaine, XTC);
• Smoking.

It is therefore best to avoid the substances mentioned above from now on. It has been shown that teeth grinding and the consumption of these substances are associated with it. Stopping the use of these products completely, at least for a certain period, is necessary. If necessary, you can also ask your dentist and/or general practitioner for advice.

You cannot stop grinding your teeth completely immediately, because it usually happens in your sleep. Stopping these remedies can sometimes be difficult as well, but this is something you can choose to do.

If you suspect that you grind your teeth as a side effect of your medication, you can discuss an alternative medication with your GP.

Insufficient sleep as a cause of teeth grinding

Teeth grinding can cause a poor night's sleep, but lack of sleep can also be the underlying cause.

If you do not get enough sleep, you may also suffer from teeth grinding, which has negative consequences for your health. They are therefore linked in two directions. So ensure you get enough quality sleep. You can find plenty of good tips on this on the internet.

Relaxed

You can reduce your symptoms by relaxing. We just briefly mentioned relaxation exercises before going to sleep, but there are also things you can do in daily life.

For example, read a good book, consider giving yoga a try, or take a short break a little more often. Also, take time to relax during the day; this is something you might not be doing enough right now, but it helps enormously.

Sometimes it can take a while

Sometimes you notice quite quickly that taking more time to relax helps, sometimes it can take a while. This varies greatly from person to person. So don't give up too soon.

Many people often say, "Those kinds of things don't work for me," but when stress, tension, and anxiety have a significant impact, it is not at all surprising that it takes a while before you really start to experience the benefits.

So give it a few weeks before you judge. Additionally, there are countless ways you might be able to relax. So try different things; if one doesn't work for you, there may well be another option that does.

Botox

This is a relatively new method for treating teeth grinding. Botox injections cause the jaw muscles to relax. This can lead to a reduction in symptoms or even a complete cessation. With a treatment like this, it might take a few weeks before you actually notice that it is working. Initially, the injections will need to be repeated a few times, after which they will be phased out.

The total duration of a treatment will depend on the severity of the problem. It is also the case that a Botox treatment is considerably more expensive than, for example, an anti-grinding mouthguard. Whether it is right for you also depends on how severe the problem is. It is advisable to seek advice from a specialist if you are interested in a treatment.