There are some things we do in private that we are embarrassed to tell publicly and even to our loved ones. Not that it’s something you are involved in criminally, but because you’re not even aware of it. However, signs are evident, and you cannot run away from it – having a sore jaw, experiencing a headache when you wake up, or feeling that your teeth are hurting. If so, there might be a chance that you have been grinding your teeth in your sleep.
Teeth grinding can sneak up on anyone without them even realising it’s happening, and at most, the advice we always hear is to wear a night guard that is only a band-aid solution to the whole problem. Nowadays, there’s a dental procedure called TMJ treatment that can treat the underlying issue to protect your oral health.
What Exactly Is Teeth Grinding?
Bruxism, or teeth grinding, has to do with clenching or grinding your teeth while you sleep. And because you are unconscious that it’s happening, you won’t even know it unless your partner or your dentist notices the signs, like having worn-down teeth, headaches around the temples, having sensitive teeth, sore jaw muscles, and even difficulty in sleeping continuously. If left untreated, teeth grinding can cause permanent damage to your mouth, which is one of the symptoms of TMJ disorders.
Why Do People Grind Their Teeth?
While there is no single cause of teeth grinding, some have been credited to various factors in lifestyle as well as what we carry physically and emotionally, like:
- If you are juggling work and family or having to carry pressure in your personal life, stress shows up in physical ways, and anxiety might get channelled into your jaw muscles.
- Unconscious response to disrupted sleep other than snoring or having sleep apnoea.
- Misalignment of your bite and having your jaw muscles compensate for its alignment.
- The pattern of keeping yourself awake and more alert at night that leads to long-term habits.
The Role of the TMJ in Teeth Grinding
TMJ, or temporomandibular joint, is the hinge that connects your jawbone to your skull. And as this is the most complex joint in the body, your jaw can move in lots of directions. However, if teeth grinding becomes a long-term problem, the constant clenching puts strain on the ligaments of your jaw that leads to having TMJ disorders.
But Do Night Guards Really Work?
Night guards are custom-made mouthpieces worn while you sleep and act as a barrier to prevent your upper and lower teeth from grinding directly against each other. And while this protects your teeth by preventing dulling or chipping, they really don’t stop the grinding pattern itself and do not solve the issue at all.
Why Night Guards Alone May Not Be Enough
Night guards fall short for a couple of reasons – for one, the headaches and soreness in your jaw won’t go away, which means that the underlying factors as to why you grind your teeth are not really addressed, ultimately leading to TMJ problems quietly developing and possibly even worsening over time without you noticing it.
A Holistic Approach to Treating Teeth Grinding
While night guards are still one of the few solutions to treat teeth grinding, they’re not the only solution. The best way forward will always be a combination of protecting the teeth and addressing the causes of grinding – this means that you might also need to change your lifestyle and treat it with the help of a dental professional.
Managing stress levels, even by walking, can make a huge difference, as well as getting good sleep by keeping regular sleep hours and limiting caffeine, which can reduce your teeth grinding.
To some, specialised exercises are the therapies they need to ease the pain around the neck and jaw area and even explore dental treatments to ultimately improve the alignment of their teeth structure.
Treating the root cause is the way to lasting relief.
While teeth grinding is a problem linked to oral health, it is proven that this type of concern stems from different types of health that we need to address. Some concerns need not be straightforward, like carrying stress and pressure outside of work and personal affairs. It’s worth noting that looking deeper into the problem will save you from years of discomfort and damage to your oral health. Sometimes, regular care for your teeth is not enough if you don’t know how to take care of your mental health.
