When you grind your teeth on a regular basis at night, this is referred to as bruxism. Without treatment, bruxism could be a source of discomfort and even damage your teeth. But we can help! In today’s blog, your Ankeny, IA, dentist talks about treating teeth grinding with our custom oral appliances.
The Causes of Teeth Grinding
Why do some of us develop chronic nighttime teeth grinding? Bruxism could develop due to a high level of stress in your daily life. Other factors could include issues that upset your bite balance and strain your jaw joints, such as TMJ disorder, missing teeth, misalignment, and injuries to the face or jaw. The eruption of the wisdom teeth or issues with the growth and development of your jaw could be a factor as well. When we examine your smile, we will assess the underlying cause so we can choose the best treatment option.
The Complication of Untreated Bruxism
Without treatment, bruxism can lead to major discomfort. You could develop headaches, migraines, jaw and facial pain, and toothaches and tooth sensitivity when you eat or drink. Without treatment, the pressure could wear down teeth to make them appear shorter, and could crack or chip them, which then leads to the onset of tooth decay and even dental infection. Your discomfort worsens and you now have the risk of tooth loss. But our team can help bring relief, so reach out at the first sign of these common symptoms.
Oral Appliance Therapy
How do we treat your bruxism? For some, we could address tooth loss with a custom dental prosthetic. For others, we could use orthodontics to correct misalignment, or bonding/crowns to improve bite balance to ease jaw joint strain. But for many, relief comes in the form of a simple and comfortable oral appliance. The device is custom-made and fitted for your smile based on detailed digital images we take of your bite. When worn at night, this helps shift your jaw to ease underlying stress and strain. The oral appliance also puts a soft barrier between the upper and lower sets of teeth, which helps prevent further damage to your smile. The appliance is easy to use and clean, and can travel with you as needed! If you have damaged teeth, we can help with bonding or even custom crowns.
If you have any questions about how our team will disease and treat bruxism, or if you have damaged or aching teeth that need attention, then reach out to our team today to get started.
Dental Impressions Offers Solutions for Teeth Grinding
Our team wants to help you enjoy a comfortable smile free of damage. To learn more about treating teeth grinding, then call Dental Impressions in Ankeny, IA today at (515) 965-0230.
