Chronic teeth grinding, also known as bruxism, could lead to damaged teeth and painful symptoms. We want to offer relief and repair, so you avoid poor oral health. In today’s blog, your Ankeny, IA, dentist talks about how we use general dentistry to treat your bruxism.
The Causes of Bruxism
What causes chronic teeth grinding? We could grind or clench our teeth nightly due to bruxism, which is brought on by factors like high stress levels. Other factors could include untreated TMJ disorder, injury to the face or jaw, missing teeth, malocclusion, or issues with the growth of the jaw or eruption of the teeth. Wisdom teeth could be a factor too. As part of your treatment, we will examine your smile to assess the severity of your bruxism and the cause.
The Warning Signs and Oral Health Risks
How do you know when to seek treatment with our team? Your significant other may let you know that you grind your teeth at night. Otherwise, you need to watch for symptoms that happen during the waking hours, such as jaw pain, headaches, migraines, facial discomfort, or persistent toothaches and tooth sensitivity. Without treatment, the pressure could wear down and damage teeth, changing the appearance of your smile and leaving teeth vulnerable to tooth decay and dental infection. But our team can help with an oral appliance!
Care with an Oral Appliance
For some, we could offer relief with orthodontic treatment, restorations to improve bite balance, or even dental prosthetics to address gaps in your smile. But the most common solution is an oral appliance. The device will look and fit like a mouthguard, and is custom-fitted for your smile by our team. When worn at night, this device will gently shift your jaw to ease underlying tension and pressure. This also puts a barrier between the upper and lower sets of teeth, which can help limit the risk of further injury. Speaking of injury, our team can repair the teeth with bonding or even custom crowns, so you enjoy better oral health and a more attractive smile too.
If you have any questions about how our team will diagnose and treat issues like bruxism, or about oral appliance therapy, then contact our office today to learn more. We look forward to helping you enjoy better oral health and a more attractive smile, and ensuring you avoid discomfort in your smile.
Dental Impressions Talks About Preventive Dentistry
Our team wants to treat teeth grinding and protect your smile from pain and injury with an oral appliance. To find out more about our approach to general dentistry and schedule your next appointment, call Dental Impressions in Ankeny, IA today at (515) 965-0230.
