Definition
Bruxism is when you clench or grind your teeth.
Clenching means you tightly hold your top and bottom teeth together, especially the back teeth. Clenching puts pressure on the muscles, tissues, and other structures around your jaw. This can lead to jaw pain and soreness, headaches, earaches, damaged teeth, and other problems. The symptoms can cause temporomandibular joint problems (TMJ).
Grinding is when you slide your teeth back and forth over each other. This can wear down your teeth. Grinding can be noisy enough at night to bother sleeping partners. Like clenching, grinding can lead to jaw pain and other problems.
Symptoms
- Teeth grinding, which may be loud enough to ...
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Definition
Bruxism is when you clench or grind your teeth.
Clenching means you tightly hold your top and bottom teeth together, especially the back teeth. Clenching puts pressure on the muscles, tissues, and other structures around your jaw. This can lead to jaw pain and soreness, headaches, earaches, damaged teeth, and other problems. The symptoms can cause temporomandibular joint problems (TMJ).
Grinding is when you slide your teeth back and forth over each other. This can wear down your teeth. Grinding can be noisy enough at night to bother sleeping partners. Like clenching, grinding can lead to jaw pain and other problems.
Symptoms
- Teeth grinding, which may be loud enough to annoy sleeping partners
- Sore or painful jaw
- Headache
- Earache (partly because the structures of the temporomandibular joint are very close to the ear canal, and partly because of referred muscle pain -- pain that is perceived in a location different from its actual source)
- Anxiety, stress, and tension
- Insomnia, depression, eating disorders
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Causes
People can clench and grind subconsciously during both the day and night, although sleep-related bruxism is often the bigger problem because it is harder to control.
The cause of bruxism is not completely agreed upon, but daily stress may be the trigger in many people. Some people probably clench and never feel symptoms. Whether or not bruxism causes pain and other problems may be a complicated mix of factors -- how much stress you are under, how long and tightly you clench and grind, whether your teeth are misaligned, your posture, ability to relax, diet, sleeping habits, and other factors. Each person is probably different.
Treatment
The goals of treatment are to reduce pain, prevent permanent damage to the teeth, and reduce clenching behaviors as much as possible.
To help relieve pain, there are may self-care steps you can take at home. For example:
- Relax your facial and jaw muscles throughout the day. The goal is to make facial relaxation a habit.
- Massage the muscles of the neck, shoulders, and face. Search carefully for small, painful nodules called trigger points that can refer pain throughout the head and face.
- Learn physical therapy stretching exercises to help the restore a normal balance to the action of the muscles and joint on each side of the head.
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Possible Complications
If clenching leads to jaw pain, this in turn can lead to insomnia, depression, and eating disorders. Clenching and grinding can worsen existing dental or TMJ problems. Nightly grinding can awaken roommates and sleeping partners.
Outlook (Prognosis)
Bruxism is not a dangerous disorder. However, it can cause permanent damage to the teeth and uncomfortable jaw pain, headaches, or ear pain .
Prevention
Stress reduction and anxiety management may reduce bruxism in persons prone to the condition.
Exams and Tests
An examination can rule out other disorders that may cause similar jaw pain or ear pain, including ear disorders such as ear infections , problems with the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) itself, and dental disorders. The person may have a history of significant stress and tension.
