What’s Making Me Grind My Teeth?

Teeth grinding or bruxism is more common than people think and although it may sound harmless enough it can wear down your teeth or dental implants in Basildon, and damage them completely. The unfortunate thing is that it’s extremely difficult to pinpoint the reason for a person to be grinding their teeth since it can be the result of numerous things including sleeping disorders, anxiety, and even crooked teeth.

Crooked teeth

Teeth grinding tends to occur during the night so you will probably only be aware of this habit if you wake up with a slight headache or feeling of numbness in your mouth. Although stress and anxiety is often cited as the most probable cause of bruxism, and it’s true that it can play a significant role, your dentist in Basildon is likely to suggest that your crooked teeth are the main culprit.

When teeth are misaligned the body tries to compensate for this during sleep. However, it can actually make the matter worse since the constant grinding pushes and pulls at your teeth, affecting their alignment even further. If you think that your crooked teeth are causing you to grind your teeth, then an appointment with an orthodontist in Basildon can confirm whether or not this is the case.

Sleeping disorders

Another factor which can lead to teeth grinding is insomnia or sleeping disorders such as sleep apnea. Many of us struggle to drift off to sleep and may be grinding our teeth without even realising it.

This ties in with stress and anxiety being the cause for bruxism since these two issues are probably the main reason that you’re having trouble sleeping in the first place. If you’re suffering from insomnia then keep all devices such as tablets and mobile phones out of the bedroom since the temptation to surf the internet is strong, and is likely preventing you from sleeping, and causing you to grind your teeth. If anxiety is the cause then you may want to look at ways of managing stress in your life. Often things such as increased exercise can alleviate stress as can actually recognising the fact that you are stressed and addressing the cause.

If you’re struggling with bruxism then we can help. Our team of skilled orthodontists can exam your bite to see if indeed you do have misaligned teeth, and we can also supply you with a custom mouth guard which when worn at night can help protect your teeth from further damage. Why not book an appointment with Felmores Dental Care today and see just how we can help you. Contact us direct on 01268 726789 or book online at www.felmoresdentalcare.co.uk. We deal with general and cosmetic dentistry as well as correcting crooked teeth in Basildon.