Bruxism (Tooth Grinding)

Tooth grinding, technically known as bruxism, is a relatively common condition that often occurs at night, during sleep. This type of tooth grinding is called nocturnal bruxism and is very common in patients of younger age. Possible reasons for bruxism include stress, anxiety and incorrect bite. Different patients exhibit different degrees of the condition. Some cases do not cause much harm and do not affect the patient's health and some cause serious damage to the patient's teeth and needs immediate medical attention. Bruxism is caused by uncontrolled activity of the chewing reflex in the brain.

In most cases, patients find out about the condition from their relatives or someone who sleeps in the same room. Only in extreme cases the patient may exhibit symptoms such as aching in the face, head and jawbone in the morning. If the patient grinds teeth at a young age, the condition is likely to disappear with time. In order to eliminate the damage done to the teeth by grinding, a dentist can give the patient a specially designed splint that has to be worn while sleeping and will protect the teeth and dental system from the damage that may be caused by bruxism, namely wearing off the dental enamel, cracking fillings, causing gum problems and deteriorating the teeth.

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