Do you suffer from jaw pain? You could be clenching & Grinding otherwise known as Bruxism. This is a condition in which you grind, or clench your teeth. If you have bruxism, you may unconsciously clench/grind your teeth when you’re awake (awake bruxism) or clench/grind them during sleep (sleep bruxism).
Sleep bruxism is considered a sleep-related movement disorder. People who clench or grind their teeth during sleep are more likely to have other sleep disorders, such as snoring and pauses in breathing (sleep apnoea).
Physical Symptoms
Oral Symptoms
Short-term effects of Bruxism:
Long term effects of Bruxism:
These factors increase your risk of bruxism:
Age. Bruxism is common in young children, but it usually goes away by adulthood.
Personality Type. Having a personality type that’s aggressive, competitive or hyperactive can increase your risk of bruxism.
Medications and other Substances. Bruxism may be an uncommon side effect of some medications, such as certain antidepressants. Smoking tobacco, drinking caffeinated beverages or alcohol, or using recreational drugs may increase the risk of bruxism.
Family members with Bruxism. Sleep bruxism tends to occur in families. If you have bruxism, other members of your family also may have bruxism or a history of it.
Other Disorders. Bruxism can be associated with some mental health and medical disorders, as Parkinson’s disease, dementia, gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), epilepsy, night terrors, sleep-related disorders such as sleep apnea, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Progressive relaxation, meditation, self-monitoring
Nightguard is a generic term often used to describe a device worn on the teeth at night to protect them from grinding and clenching. There are many types of Nightguard appliances.
The most commonly prescribed splint for bruxism and TMD, The soft guard will protect the by separating and preventing them from coming into contact. These are for mild or occasional cases, not for severe teeth grinders.
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These are made with bi-laminate material, they are soft on the fitting surface and hard on the top surface. This type of night guard for Bruxism is for moderately severe teeth.
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Harder to adjust to
Hard night guards for Bruxism are made from acrylic and are extremely rigid but durable. They can be used for moderate to severe cases of grinding, as well as TMJ.
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The SCi device is extremely effective in reducing the symptoms of grinding. Moreover, FDA have approved it for the treatment of medically diagnosed migraines. With excellent clinical results, SCi and SCi+ are proven to relieve the painful symptoms.
In a study by Clark GT et. al, tension-type headache patients without signs or symptoms of TMD clenched their jaws during sleep, on average, 14 times more intensely than asymptomatic controls. Moreover, it has been shown that temporalis contraction is twice as intense during sleep than in waking patients.
SCi reduces parafunctional intensity of the temporalis, masseters and the lateral pterygoids (the tiny muscles at your jaw joints that open your jaw), eliminating posterior and canine contact, thereby reducing temporalis clenching.
All cases requiring a disconnection of the occlusion and/or the relaxation of the masticatory musculature, such as:
The Michigan Tanner Splint was developed at Michigan University (USA), with the object of treating dysfunction of the TMJ muscle and to control bruxism. The splint covers the biting surface of the teeth. While doing this, its design ensures that there is an even contact when the teeth come together. This stops pressure build-up. Michigan splints are typically constructed on the upper teeth and Tanner splints are constructed on the lower teeth.
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