Do you wake up in the morning with jaw pain or tension in your neck and shoulders? Do you often experience headaches above your temples? Are your teeth more sensitive to cold, pressure, or other stimuli? These symptoms are common among people who clench their jaw strongly from side to side and back and forth during the night, causing teeth grinding and wear. The medical term for this is bruxism or temporomandibular disorder.
When we chew food, we generate a force of about 175 Pa per cm2 of tooth surface. When grinding teeth at night, there is no food to cushion that pressure, so the force generated is around 300 Pa per cm2 of tooth surface or more. It is unknown why the rhythmic activity of the muscles during sleep involves both groups of masticatory muscles (openers and closers of the mouth), when during the day their activity alternates during chewing.
For many, the main problem is headaches that prevent them from performing daily activities normally. The complex joints connecting the lower jaw and skull can become overstrained and inflamed, causing pain that can spread to the upper back.
However, the problems can become much more serious. Permanent damage can occur, such as cracking of tooth enamel, fractures of teeth, damage to the temporomandibular joint, or even tooth loss.
There are many reasons why people with bruxism unknowingly clench their jaws and grind their teeth. An improper bite and everyday stress may be one cause of bruxism, as well as excessive intake of caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. While you sleep, you are unable to stop the overworked jaw muscles and temporomandibular joint from continuing to contract, causing numerous symptoms that you feel all day.
Fortunately, treatment for this problem is usually non-invasive, inexpensive, and easily resolved in a dental office.
In most cases, a custom-made mouthguard is created from an impression of your teeth. These are called splints, made from special materials that are soft on the inside and hard on the outside. The splint covers all the teeth in the upper jaw, alleviating the forces acting on the teeth and preventing unnecessary muscle strain. Patients who have had this problem for years often feel relief after just two or three nights with the appliance.
If you think you have a temporomandibular disorder or bruxism problem, consult with us. Your problem is easily solvable.