Teeth grinding, also known as bruxism, could lead to damaged teeth and even the risk of tooth decay or infection. We want to help you stop discomfort and enjoy relief from the impacts of bruxism. In today’s blog, your Ankeny, IA, dentist talks about helping smiles by treating chronic teeth grinding.
The Causes of Bruxism
What causes a person to start grinding or clenching their teeth? Bruxism could be caused by high stress levels, injury to the face or jaw, issues with the growth of the jaw or eruption of the teeth, tooth loss, misalignment, or untreated TMJ disorder. When we examine your smile, we want to assess the cause of your bruxism so we can choose the most appropriate treatment option. Treatment then protects your smile from major complications down the road!
The Symptoms and Long-Term Impacts
What symptoms should you watch for? Your significant other could tell you about grinding episodes that occur as you sleep. But there are also daytime symptoms you can let us know about. For example, headaches, migraines, jaw and facial pain, and aches in the neck and shoulders. Tooth sensitivity and toothaches could also be a factor. Over time, the damaged and exposed inner structures could mean the onset of tooth decay and even infection, which not only cause discomfort, but could lead to missing teeth too.
Treatment and Dental Repair
How do we treat bruxism? For some, we may offer straighter smiles with orthodontics, or we could improve bite balance with bonding or a crown. Our team could even address missing teeth with a dental prosthetic. But the most common solution is an oral appliance. The device is custom-made and fits like a mouthguard. When in place, this appliance will help shift the jaw to ensure better bite balance and ease underlying causes. The appliance also places a barrier between the upper and lower sets of teeth, which helps limit the risk of further damage.
If you have cracked, chipped, or worn-down teeth due to teeth grinding, we could offer repair. With dental bonding, we can address minor damage in one sitting. Our team can also create custom crowns to improve bite balance and repair more substantial damage. If you have any questions about how our team will diagnose and treat issues like bruxism, or about the benefits of oral appliance therapy, then contact our team today to learn more.
Dental Impressions Offers Solutions for Teeth Grinding
We want to help you enjoy good oral health and a smile free of injury and discomfort, which is why we offer custom mouthguards. To find out more about our custom teeth grinding treatments, call Dental Impressions in Ankeny, IA today at (515) 965-0230.
