Grinding of teeth: causes, consequences, treatment »cmd doctor search

Gnashing of teeth (bruxism)

Grinding your teeth is an unpleasant and unhealthy habit. The reasons for this are very diverse and have not yet been fully researched. The most common is gnashing of teeth at night, but some people do it subconsciously during the day. Teeth grinding is very common in children and toddlers.

What happens when you grind your teeth and how it happens?

When grinding your teeth, those affected usually subconsciously rub or clench their teeth or rub them against each other, causing long-term damage to the tooth structure. They often do it in their sleep when consciousness is completely switched off or when there is strong mental and emotional tension.

The doctor describes the gnashing of the teeth as a parafunction, since the activity of the chewing apparatus triggered thereby has no real purpose. Nevertheless, the grinder presses or presses the teeth together with very great pressure, whereby the chewing muscles work with a stronger biting force than with normal chewing.

If the mandible and maxilla are misaligned, it is a malfunction (CMD) and can impair the harmony of the entire musculoskeletal system and lead to health problems. CMD usually manifests itself through pain in the temporomandibular joint – and through clearly audible grinding of teeth. Fortunately, often – especially with children – it is not a CMD.

Gritting your teeth is fairly common, and headaches occur. For many adults, a stress reaction or the processing of mental problems during sleep is the trigger. But there may also be an orthopedic problem in the temporomandibular joints. Crooked teeth or poorly fitting dentures can also be the cause of grinding teeth. Alcohol or certain medications are also suspected.

Sometimes grinding your teeth at night is just a bad habit. The gnashing of teeth during sleep in children is often related to improperly standing milk teeth and disappears with the regrowth of the permanent teeth.

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effects & Consequences of grinding your teeth

Now you know what teeth grinding is. Find out more about the consequences here:

Grinding of teeth: consequences

Even with a slight grind, the teeth are put under excessive strain and there are signs of abrasion. Soon toothache will result from grinding your teeth and in more severe cases your teeth may deform, loosen and fall out. The temporomandibular joints can also change painfully as a result of teeth grinding.

If the joint disks slip, those affected cannot even open their mouth properly. In addition, there may be strong muscular tension in the neck and head area, especially when grinding teeth at night. As further teeth gnashing there is a risk of muscle soreness, headache, tension pain in the neck and shoulder area, even the notorious tinnitus (ear noise) can occur as a result of teeth grinding.

What helps against grinding your teeth?

There is no effective causal treatment of the symptoms, at least for the psychologically-related form of crunching, one can only try therapy to identify and process the mental causes. As a relative, friend or colleague, you can always point out to those affected what they are doing unconsciously.

When grinding teeth during sleep, a tooth splint or bite splint can help protect the rows of teeth against nighttime grinding and prevent toothache from grinding teeth. Massage therapy, heat treatment and even autogenic training, yoga and Thai Chi can help to stop teeth grinding at night and stop the symptoms of bruxism.

Nationwide doctor search for CMD doctors (bruxism)

Nationwide doctor search for CMD doctors

In our doctor search you will find doctors in your area who specialize in bruxism (gnashing of teeth)

Homeopathy helps against gnashing of teeth?

In fact, homeopathy is very effective at gnashing your teeth. This is especially true for grinding teeth in children and toddlers, but also for toothache caused by grinding. A whole series of globules provides relaxation during sleep and relieves toothache caused by grinding and headaches. Learn more about the topics:

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