If you’ve ever woken up with sore teeth, a stiff jaw, or a dull headache, you might be experiencing bruxism, the habit of grinding your teeth at night or clenching your jaw during the day. While it may seem harmless at first, untreated bruxism can cause serious dental damage, leading to costly dental treatment needs, jaw problems, and even the breakdown of existing dental restorations.
The good news? Our team can provide effective prevention, such as a custom night guard in Washington Heights, NYC. With our help, you can protect your smile and avoid a lot of discomfort (and bills) down the road.
What Is Bruxism?
Bruxism is the medical term for teeth grinding and jaw clenching. It can happen during the day, but for many people, it’s more common at night during sleep. Sleep bruxism often goes unnoticed until symptoms start to show, such as tooth wear, jaw pain, or a bed partner complaining about the noise.
While the exact cause isn’t always clear, common triggers include:
- Stress and anxiety
- Sleep disorders like sleep apnea
- Misaligned teeth or an uneven bite
- Certain medications
- Lifestyle factors like using caffeine or alcohol before bed
Because you may not be aware it’s happening, bruxism can quietly wear down your teeth over time, sometimes to the point of causing irreversible damage.
How Can Bruxism Damage Your Teeth?
Think about how much force your jaw can generate when chewing. While our jaws aren’t quite as strong as dogs or bears, humans can generate about 160 pounds of pressure per square inch. Now imagine that force being applied over and over, for hours at a time, while you sleep.
Over time, grinding teeth at night can:
- Wear down tooth enamel, making teeth more sensitive and prone to decay
- Flatten or chip the edges of your teeth
- Cause cracks and fractures in the teeth
- Lead to loose teeth if gum tissue or bone sockets are affected
- Exacerbate gum recession or cause notches in the sides of the teeth
- Damage restorations like fillings, crowns, bridges, and veneers
For some people, bruxism can cause such significant wear and tear that their teeth become shorter, altering their bite and changing the shape of their face.
Repairing the Damage from Teeth Grinding
Once bruxism has damaged your teeth, restoring them can be a big investment, both financially and in terms of time in the dental chair.
Depending on the severity of the damage, repairs may include:
- Dental crowns to restore shape, strength, and appearance to worn or broken teeth.
- Bridges or dental implants to replace missing teeth caused by severe damage or extraction.
- Bonding or veneers to fix chips and restore aesthetics.
- Full-mouth reconstruction, a comprehensive approach involving multiple crowns, bridges, or implants to rebuild your bite.
After rebuilding your teeth, it’s essential to stop grinding your teeth at night. If you’ve had extensive dental work done and you continue to grind, those restorations are at risk of breaking or wearing down just like natural teeth.
That’s why our team may recommend a night guard in Washington Heights as part of the plan to rehabilitate your smile. It’s like putting a helmet on your teeth!
Bruxism and Your Jaw
The effects of bruxism aren’t limited to your teeth. Constant jaw clenching puts a lot of strain on your temporomandibular joints (TMJs). The TMJs are small but complex joints on each side of your head that allow your jaw to open, close, and move side to side.
Chronic strain on the TMJs can cause the pad of cartilage inside the joint to break down, weaken, or even tear. Over time, jaw strain can also cause the condyle (a rounded ball that sits inside the joint, similar to where the leg meets the hip) to become flattened or misshapen.
This type of joint damage can lead to serious pain, stiffness, and chronic headaches or migraines. In extreme cases, you may also lose the normal range of motion in your jaw joint and lose your ability to eat normally.
If you have started to lose jaw function, or experience intolerable pain, it may be necessary to see a TMJ specialist for surgery. Jaw joint problems can be difficult and expensive to treat once they develop, so prevention is key.
How to Stop Grinding Teeth at Night
While you can’t simply tell yourself to stop grinding teeth at night (especially if it happens while you’re asleep), there are effective ways to reduce the damage and protect your smile.
1. A Custom Night Guard
A professionally made night guard is one of the most effective and affordable long-term solutions. It creates a protective barrier between your teeth, absorbing grinding forces and preventing wear. While it may be tempting to purchase a cheap night guard from the drug store, they can frequently make the problem worse.
Unlike store-bought guards, a custom night guard:
- Fits your teeth precisely for comfort and better protection
- Is made from durable materials that can withstand grinding
- Won’t shift or fall out while you sleep
- Are carefully designed and balanced to keep your jaw in a healthy position
- Are made from rigid materials that won’t stimulate your jaw muscles to “chew” more
While a custom night guard costs more than an over-the-counter alternative, it’s important to remember that this is an investment in your long-term oral health and jaw function that can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in damage down the road.
2. Orthodontics
Very often, bruxism is the result of bite disharmony. If the jaw can’t find a stable resting position, it may move side-to-side or front-to-back, or the strong closing muscles called masseters may flex, almost as if to “bite through” an obstruction.
If your bruxism is related to bite alignment issues, orthodontics can help to correct the underlying problem and relieve areas where your bite is too heavy or uneven. In many cases, this can significantly reduce your teeth grinding or jaw clenching, but you may still benefit from wearing a guard at night as well.
Regardless of whether orthodontics help to stop your bruxism, a healthier bite can significantly reduce wear and tear on your teeth and restorations.
3. Other Treatment Options
In some cases, alternative therapies may help to relieve muscle strain and improve the effectiveness of other treatments. Other therapies include:
- Muscle relaxers to reduce jaw muscle tension before bed, typically only as a short-term option for flare-ups
- Botox® injections to relax jaw muscles and correct overdeveloped muscles
- Laser therapy to help with inflammation and relieve pain in the jaw muscles
As mentioned earlier, if your jaw joints are already damaged, we may refer you to an oral maxillofacial surgeon or a TMJ specialist near you to ensure you get the right care.
We’re Here to Help You Get a Healthier Night’s Sleep!
Bruxism may be common, but it’s not harmless, and ignoring it can lead to much bigger problems for your teeth, jaw, and wallet. Investing in a custom night guard in Washington Heights is one of the best ways to protect both your natural teeth and any dental restorations you’ve had repaired.
If you’ve noticed signs of grinding, such as worn or sensitive teeth, jaw pain, or frequent headaches, don’t wait until the damage becomes costly. Schedule a visit so we can evaluate your bite, recommend the right protection, and help you sleep easier knowing your smile is safe.
