Teeth Clenching Wears Down the Teeth, But Treatment is Possible

Added: 12/26/2005

Teeth clenching during the night is very unpleasant. Teeth clenching is technically referred to as bruxism. In the past people believed that bruxism was caused by the intervention of evil spirits. They believed in that legend because it was often accompanied by epilepsy and some mental disorders. But nowadays scientists know this is not true. It has not been proven that it is not related to stress or mental diseases. Let's speak about bruxism and bruxism causes and possible treatment.

Bruxism is periodical paroxysmal contraction of masticating muscles when sleeping, accompanied by jaw pressing and teeth clenching. According to different data; bruxism happens in 1-3 per cent of patients. The disease can appear at very young age or at mature age. Bruxism causes are not defined. There is a widespread - but not medical point of view - that teeth clenching is caused by helminth. But it is not proven and there is no reason for it. Teeth clenching appears when a patient has defects in their facial skeleton structure, malocclusion or pathology of joints of lower jaw and temporal bone.

Teeth clenching is thought to be closely connected with such motion or neural disorder as dyskinesia, dystonia of lower jaw or tremor. Such bruxism causes as psychophysiologic factors, but general diseases or environmental factors have not been proven yet.

If teeth clenching suddenly appears in a person's later years, it is necessary to perform a check-up for signs of epilepsy. Clinical presentation of the disorder is a rather specific one. When sleeping, suddenly teeth clenching appears. It may continue for several seconds or minutes. Such episode may be repeated for several times during the might.

Diagnosis is made usually on the base of anamnesis. In addition, the patient can complain of muscles or joint pains in lower jaw. It is possible that no disorders are defined during examination but if the disease is severe then there is a dentine grinding, caries, periodontal inflammation. It is caused by teeth damage as a result of contractions of lower jaw.

Diagnosis can be proved by special polisomnographical investigation when there is a specific appearance of contraction of the masticatory muscles. Moreover, polisomnographia is important to exclude epilepsy as a cause of bruxism

Teeth clenching treatment is problematic even today. It depends on its development, the cause of the disorder, and its character. Bruxism at very young age usually does not need any treatment and stops at the age of 6 or 7.

If an adult suffers from bruxism it is necessary first of all to eliminate all available dental problems or occlusion defects. Maybe it is worth using rubber or plastic mouth guard applicators that are fixed between teeth and prevent their damage.

Additional treatment includes calcium and magnum preparation and vitamins B. These microelements and vitamins may reduce convulsive activity of masticatory muscles during the night.

If a teeth clenching appears during the day it is bruxomania.

Some specialists believe that teeth clenching during the night is a result of low activity of masticatory muscles, suffered by people do not eat fibrous or tough-to-chew foods. Enough teeth load is necessary for blood supply of teeth and jaw system and standard physiological processes. So, specialists advise to load the masticatory apparatus and it can save from teeth clenching during the night.

It is recommended to eat apples, carrots, cabbage or any other tough food before sleeping. The masticatory muscles are tired and will not contract during the night.

However, there remains much controversy about bruxism, its causes and treatment.

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