Clenching and Teeth Grinding Scarborough

What is Bruxism?

Bruxism is excessive teeth grinding and/or jaw clenching. It can occur either unconsciously while awake, or during sleep. If this occurs on a regular basis, the teeth can become damaged, and other oral health problems can arise like myofascial muscle pain and headaches.

When you clench your jaw or grind your teeth, the teeth are put under enormous pressure which can wear away the enamel leading to exposed dentin and eventually teeth breakage. Bruxism is particularly bad if you have expensive dental work as grinding your teeth can destroy dental work as well as your natural teeth. Bruxism also puts great strain on the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and can cause aching jaw and facial muscles and morning headaches.

Protecting your teeth against Bruxism

We can create a customized mouth night guard for tooth and enamel protection. Impressions are taken at our dental clinic and sent to a lab. Mouthguards don’t necessarily cure bruxism, but they can prevent or correct the wear to your teeth caused by the condition. Mouthguards are custom made of hard acrylic plastic or soft materials, to fit over your upper and lower teeth, to minimize the abrasion action of tooth surfaces during sleep. It accomplishes this by re-establishing natural space between your upper and lower teeth and providing a barrier of defense. The mouthguard helps reduce the risk of cracking or chipping a tooth, and can also minimize strain to your jaw, ultimately helping to prevent damage to teeth and to the temporomandibular joint.

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