The state of good dental health is often used in reference to being dentally well and sound. However, maintaining such good dental health requires adopting specific habits and activities. It also involves abstaining from and from some other activities because they can result in issues that affect dental health. An example of these harmful dental habits to avoid includes Bruxism.
Perhaps you are interested in knowing more about bruxism, how it affects your dental health, and how to avoid it. In that case, you are reading the right article. This is because we are about to teach you everything you should know about the dental issue. Read on to discover more.
What Is Bruxism?
Bruxism is the habit of teeth grinding. Many people practice this habit as a way of overcoming some issues. The Smiles Dental Commack, a reliable dental store, has discovered that there are reasons people engage in teeth grinding (Bruxism). These reasons are:
- Anxiety: This is a mental health issue that can cause individuals to develop the habit of teeth grinding. Anxiety causes uneasiness and discomfort, and individuals result in teeth grinding to help them subdue anxiety. Well, it may work temporarily but is not good for the teeth.
- Sleep apnea: This is the cessation of sleep, and many individuals who suffer from this problem tend to practice Bruxism to help themselves relax and fall asleep.
- Stress: Similar to anxiety, when stress levels are high, some individuals develop the habit of teeth grinding to relieve themselves of stress.
- Pain: This makes individuals practice Bruxism as a way of distracting their selves of pain. This pain can result from tenderness in the jaw.
- Dental abnormalities: Most individuals who practice Bruxism do so because of dental abnormalities resulting from incomplete dentition or improper dental arrangement. This results in the individuals grinding their teeth to relieve the discomfort they experience.
- Damages to jaw or cheekbones either from accidents. These individuals resort to teeth grinding to help them overcome the discomfort experienced.
Bruxism is used as a medium of distraction from the problems mentioned above, and the use of Bruxism is not only practiced by adults; kids also practice it to help get through this problem and more problems. Some kids practice Bruxism when bored or scared, while others pick up these bad habits from the people around them.
This article highlights everything about Bruxism ranging from the causes to the treatments and approaches for correcting it.
Detecting Bruxism
Bruxism is different from other dental issues. Hence, some individuals who practice this habit may not be aware they do. The famous way of detecting Bruxism is via dental examination. A dentist can easily detect Bruxism because the practice of this habit affects dental health by causing some disorders and abnormalities in an individual’s dentition.
Treating Bruxism
As mentioned earlier, Bruxism is practiced by adults and kids, while for kids, in most cases, they outgrow this habit; for some adults, it is different. Dentists have designed three ways of treating Bruxism, and they are:
- Dental approach
- Dental medication
Dental Approach
These are methods designed to preserve and protect the teeth, and they are:
- Use of mouthguards: This is done to help the individual stop clenching and grinding of the teeth. The guard can be made of soft or acrylic materials, and it is placed between the upper and lower teeth.
- Dental correction: Constant teeth grinding leads to the teeth’ surface losing their shape, and the dental approach, dental correction, correct this. It involves the dentist reshaping and reforming the teeth s surface so the individual can chew correctly.
- Other dental approaches include anxiety or stress management and biofeedback (biofeedback is a method that involves monitoring procedures and equipment that teaches jaw control.
Dental Medication
Although medication for treating Bruxism is not very effective when treating Bruxism, it becomes effective when used with dental approaches. The medications are:
- Muscle relaxants: Constant practice of teeth grinding causes the jaw, gum, and muscles around the teeth to become very tensed that they even swell. Hence, dentists administer muscle relaxants to help the muscles relax, along with mouth guards to prevent teeth grinding.
- Botox injections: This is used for individuals who do not respond to other forms of treatment. It is done by injecting botulinum toxin to help stop Bruxism.
- Use of stress and anxiety medications
Conclusion
Bruxism results in dental disorders and jaw pains, and many individuals with Bruxism have sought ways to cure it. Although it does not have a cure, it can be managed. Luckily, this article provides all details on Bruxism you should know, ranging from causes to treatments.
