teeth-grinding

Teeth Grinding Shellharbour – All You Need to Know

Do you suffer from teeth grinding? Shellharbour patients aren’t always aware that they have this problem until they visit their dentist for a regular check-up, or until their partner complains of being kept awake at night with the noise they’re making.

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What is teeth grinding and what causes it?

Teeth grinding, or bruxism as it’s also referred to, is the involuntary clenching and grinding of the teeth. It happens predominantly at night when a person is asleep, although it can also happen during the day. While stress and anxiety are cited as being the main causes, a person may also grind their teeth when they’re concentrating, if their teeth are misaligned, or even as a side effect of antidepressants. Did you know that around 5% of the Australian population are already struggling with this issue?

The dangers of teeth grinding

Teeth grinding is bad for your smile because it causes:

  • Wear and tear to tooth enamel
  • Damage to restorations
  • Cracked teeth
  • Tooth sensitivity
  • Gum recession
  • Strain to the TMJ
  • Enlarged cheek muscles
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The good news is that we can help protect your teeth from further damage with the appropriate treatment for example, crowns, nightguards, mouthguards our Shellharbour dentists design, and we can discuss ways of helping you to address this problem.

How to know if you grind your teeth

Are you one of the many people in Shellharbour that grind their teeth? You may be if you’ve noticed any of the following symptoms:

  • Your jaw feels tender and sore when you awake in the morning
  • Your teeth appear shorter and flatter
  • Recession of your gums has exposed the yellow tooth roots
  • You wake with a headache most mornings

If you’re not sure whether you grind your teeth, then schedule a visit with our friendly and experienced dentists. They’ve got over 4 decades of experience among them in restoring patients’ smiles and helping prevent teeth grinding in Shellharbour.

Teeth grinding treatment

There are many treatments available for teeth grinding, including relaxation techniques such as meditation and yoga. If your teeth grinding is related to anger or anxiety, you may want to consider talking through your problems with a counsellor. Some people find that taking more exercise or going for long walks helps relax them and improves sleep, which in turn may stop them from grinding their teeth.

If your bite is misaligned, our dentist may recommend orthodontic treatment to put an end to your problem. We may not be able to stop your teeth grinding habit, but we can recommend a custom mouthguard which is worn over the upper teeth. This cushions your teeth from the bite force and means that the mouthguard takes the brunt of your grinding instead of your tooth enamel.

Sports mouthguards

Besides teeth grinding, mouthguards can be useful for sport lovers. The risk of contact to the face and teeth is an ever-present danger in some sports. To minimise this risk, it’s a good idea to wear a mouthguard. Mouthguards are usually worn during sports and other activities that involve a high risk of impact to the face. According to the Australian Dental Association (ADA), about one-third of traumatic injuries to teeth are sports-related. Sports Medicine Association Australia suggests that 50% of children experience some form of dental injury. A custom mouthguard might prove far better than any generic mouthguard you can purchase from a store, so if you grind your teeth and you’d like a mouthguard made for you, then book an appointment with our dentists. Call Shellharbour Dentists today on (02) 4216 9911.
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