Learning how to stop teeth grinding can be a difficult process for those who have this disorder. For many people, they don’t even know they do it until they visit the dentist and find damaged teeth. Here’s an overview of bruxism and how anxiety and teeth grinding may be having an effect on your life.
Bruxism is simply an abnormal chewing action that is caused by your brain becoming inactive while you are sleeping and allowing the reflex chewing activity to remain active.
Approximately 30 to 40 million people in the U.S. grind their teeth at night. About half don’t even realize it. Bruxism is also one of the biggest factors in losing teeth, as well as the single biggest factor for occlusal disease.
Over the course of time, teeth grinding can create major problems. It wears down the teeth to s stump. It can also lead to jaw problems such as TMJ.
While experts can’t pinpoint an exact cause of bruxism, anxiety and teeth grinding seem to go hand in hand. Stress creates muscle tension and in turn, clenching of the teeth.
Some of the more common remedies for teeth grinding include a mouth guard or bite strip. Your dentist would fit your mouth for the device which you would wear on the inside of your mouth during sleep. These bruxism treatment devices have shown to work well in some patients.
Other remedies for teeth grinding include changes in your diet, such as cutting down on caffeine, getting regular exercise which can reduce anxiety and teeth grinding, as well as certain jaw exercises and tips.
Bruxism is a serious condition if left without treatment. The good news is that there are remedies for teeth grinding available to everyone.
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Home Remedies For Bruxism
Bruxism or teeth grinding is one of most damaging forms of dental disorders. This condition is usually difficult to detect in the early stages as the patient is completely oblivious of this habit. It leads to clenching and grinding of the teeth along with extreme jaw movements. You can suffer facial pain due to the clenching – clamping the top and bottom teeth together. This stressful act puts pressure on the muscles, tissues and the areas around the jaw.
It can lead to serious problems like jaw joint disorders, jaw pain, headaches, earaches, damaged teeth and many others. This continuous form of grinding damages the teeth completely. This condition is very common among children but it is not only restricted to them. It is a very common problem among people with Fibromyalgia Syndrome. The teeth clenching and teeth grinding may lead to Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJ).
Home Remedies for Bruxism
Before retiring to bed you can chew on an apple, cauliflower or carrot. This will calm your overactive mouth and prevent grinding.
To relax your jaw muscles use a warm washcloth around the sides of your face. Continue doing this for sometime. This will relax the clenched muscles that cause head pain. Do it before bedtime to benefit more.
Be relaxed and avoid stress by taking warm baths and massages. Massage your neck muscles, shoulders and face to relax peacefully. Stress relieving exercises should help you unwind. Squeeze a tennis ball; it may come in handy to get rid of the stress.
Sleeping on your side or your stomach may increase your chances of bruxism. The best position to sleep is on your back to reduce the stress.
Use contoured pillow if you can’t sleep on your back. Place the contoured pillow under you face and the ordinary pillow between your arms. Sleeping in this position reduces the strain on your jaw and neck and prevents you from rolling over onto your face.
Avoid consumption of alcohol as it inadvertently affects your sleep and increases the movement of your jaw which causes clenching. Cut down on caffeine and carbohydrates like candy and pastries.
Try acupressure, it may help you relax for a good night sleep thus avoiding any incidents of teeth clenching or grinding.
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