Hi, this is Dr. Ryan Francis, DDS from Grove Health Dental
Today we are talking about Bruxism or more specifically Clenching and Grinding of your teeth!
Now, there is a very good chance you or someone you know personally grinds their teeth. This is because statistically 1 in every 3 people clench or grind their teeth. General "bruxism" or teeth clenching occurs during the day as people manage busy lives and stress. Teeth grinding on the other hand is usually more common at night as most people consciously stop themselves from grinding.
Clenching and/or Grinding teeth can lead to many symptoms including:
1. Headaches
2. Sore Jaw Muscles
3. Wear Of Teeth (Front and Back)
4. Pain In Front Of The Ear
5. Temporomandibular Joint Pain
Simply put it can cause a lot of pain, discomfort and annoyance.
How can you or those you know manage and reduce the severity of these symptoms?
Here are a few options I recommend at my clinic:
1. Occlusal Guard (aka night guard, splint, bite guard) - this is a clear guard that is placed on your bottom teeth. The occlusal guard works by helping to prevent the jaw muscles to engage which relaxes the temporal mandibular joint at night. These are typical worn at night as they can make speech difficult. [I generally make a few of these a week for patients and have noticed significant improvement in those patients].
2. Daytime Mouth Piece - I have recently started creating these for my patients an it has become very popular. This mouth piece fits similar to an occlusal guard but is much less bulky and usually much less noticeable. The action is also similar to that of the occlusal guard as it allows the jaw muscles to relax which decrease the daily clenching of teeth.
These two options are great for those of you struggle with overly stressful days and/or those who struggle with intermittent sleep patterns.
If you notice that you are in fact struggling with any of these issues or symptoms I'd love to talk to you about the relief we can provide as many people are great candidates for these simple appliances.
Grove Health Dental
763.416.0011
9907 Maple Grove Parkway
Maple Grove, Mn 55369
www.GroveHealthDental.com
Today we are talking about Bruxism or more specifically Clenching and Grinding of your teeth!
Now, there is a very good chance you or someone you know personally grinds their teeth. This is because statistically 1 in every 3 people clench or grind their teeth. General "bruxism" or teeth clenching occurs during the day as people manage busy lives and stress. Teeth grinding on the other hand is usually more common at night as most people consciously stop themselves from grinding.
Clenching and/or Grinding teeth can lead to many symptoms including:
1. Headaches
2. Sore Jaw Muscles
3. Wear Of Teeth (Front and Back)
4. Pain In Front Of The Ear
5. Temporomandibular Joint Pain
Simply put it can cause a lot of pain, discomfort and annoyance.
How can you or those you know manage and reduce the severity of these symptoms?
Here are a few options I recommend at my clinic:
1. Occlusal Guard (aka night guard, splint, bite guard) - this is a clear guard that is placed on your bottom teeth. The occlusal guard works by helping to prevent the jaw muscles to engage which relaxes the temporal mandibular joint at night. These are typical worn at night as they can make speech difficult. [I generally make a few of these a week for patients and have noticed significant improvement in those patients].
2. Daytime Mouth Piece - I have recently started creating these for my patients an it has become very popular. This mouth piece fits similar to an occlusal guard but is much less bulky and usually much less noticeable. The action is also similar to that of the occlusal guard as it allows the jaw muscles to relax which decrease the daily clenching of teeth.
These two options are great for those of you struggle with overly stressful days and/or those who struggle with intermittent sleep patterns.
If you notice that you are in fact struggling with any of these issues or symptoms I'd love to talk to you about the relief we can provide as many people are great candidates for these simple appliances.
Grove Health Dental
763.416.0011
9907 Maple Grove Parkway
Maple Grove, Mn 55369
www.GroveHealthDental.com