dental venue - Tooth Cleaning And Grinding

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Tooth Grinding & Clenching

Attrition of the chewing surfaces of your teeth occurs normally throughout life at a slow, steady pace. Just the friction of the upper and lower teeth moving against one another wears away enamel. You don't notice it because it's such a slow process. Though, you might notice that the biting surfaces of your lower incisors appear more yellow than they use to. Depending on your age, the yellow looking incisal edges of your lower teeth are probably exposed dentin (the layer under enamel).

The normal process of attrition can become greatly accelerated if your teeth don't fit together. In other words, if your normal bite is off to one side and not evenly balanced with the teeth interlocking. One out of every 4 adults falls into this category at some level. Grinding and clenching are usually a physical manifestation of stress. It often occurs at night while you are asleep; most are unaware they even do it.

When this type of nonfunctional wear of the teeth occurs, the enamel will wear much more quickly than normal. Over time, the enamel gets thinner and can be completely worn away. If this happens, the underlying dentin of the tooth is exposed. Once the softer layer of dentin is exposed, wear occurs at a faster rate. Eventually, enough structure has been worn away to make the tooth prone to chipping and fracture. The more porous nature of dentin picks up stain much more rapidly than normal teeth. Coffee, tea, and red wine are notorious for staining dentin.

Bruxism is considered a parafunctional habit; whereby, the teeth are clenched or ground to together repeatedly. Bruxism affects somewhere between 50% to 90% of all adults and approximately 15% of children.

What Causes Bruxism?

There is no one cause; it's usually brought about by one or more of the following factors:

Poor occlusion (the teeth don't come together properly)
Emotional stress
Type-A personalities

Signs & Symptoms of Bruxism

Tooth wear,
Facial muscle pain and fatigue
Grinding noise noticed by a significant other
Headaches
Locking and clicking of the jaws
Sensitive teeth
Tooth mobility
Tooth fractures

Continued Abuse Can Lead To

Poor esthetics due to loss of natural shape, color, and translucency of your teeth

Increased staining of exposed dentin

Sensitivity to hot and cold temperature or air stimulation

Greater risk for trauma (chips and fractures)

Future restorative treatment (possibly including root canal therapy)

Greater incurred cost due to future dental treatments

In severe cases, TMJ problems due to loss of natural facial dimension

Treatment For Bruxism

Fabrication of a mouthguard to be worn at night or when you are most at risk for grinding and clenching. The mouthguard prevents your teeth from touching and creating further damage. Mouthguards usually last about one year, though, depending on the strength of your bite and the frequency with which you grind, they can last from a few months to a few years.

In mild cases of attrition, tooth-colored bonding can restore teeth a more esthetic appearance.

In cases of TMJ involvement, restoring fractured and worn posterior (back) teeth with onlay or crown restorations may be necessary to maintain proper jaw relationships.

Because it’s thought that an abnormal bite may predispose a person to grinding, treatment may involve removing the "high spots" on some of your teeth, allowing them to fit better with the opposing arch.

When stress is determined to be the major cause, you’ll need to find ways to relax. A good way to start is by cutting out some of the caffeine. Counseling is often helpful; your dentist may prescribe muscle relaxants depending upon the severity of your case. Physical therapy may also be needed to alleviate jaw pain.

The Bottomline

Grinding is a common occurrence among many people at some time of their life. Try to identify the stressful situations causing the problem and work on stress reduction and coping techniques. Prevention is the best cure - consider having your dental office fabricate a mouthguard if you have the symptoms.

Note: It is important to note that before beginning any course of treatment you should see your dentist. Please note that without the benefit of a full dental examination, including a review of medical history, dental x-rays, and diagnostic aids, no attempt can be made to provide specific diagnosis or recommended courses of treatment. However, we will be happy to update our site to include topics you feel deserve mention. contact us