Orthodontic Considerations For Bruxism

Bruxism is a problem that affects many adults, and it affects them in different ways depending on the severity, frequency, and causes of bruxism. The term bruxism refers to involuntarily grinding your teeth in your sleep. It has a variety of degrees, ranging from cripplingly severe to just kind of gnashing your teeth in your sleep. Bruxism can also refer to involuntary grinding if certain situations come up. If you ever find yourself grinding your teeth, then you have a very, very mild case of bruxism. This habit is bad for your teeth, and how bad it is depends on how severely you are bruxing.

Causes

There are many causes to why people do this - some are psychological, some are functional, and some toxicological in nature. All of these problems have different solutions. Stress is listed as one of the main causes, as we tend to bite down hard when we are experiencing stress, and if you experience it frequently you may start to bite down and grind in your sleep, or at random moments throughout the day.

Drugs and alcohol are another reason that people brux. When inhibitions are lifted, as during drug use and alcohol consumption, people tend to brux, which is strange as some drugs are supposed to relax you and make you more calm. The social stress of using drugs also causes bruxism. Party drugs like amphetamines and MDMA and the many designer spinoffs are known to cause people to grind their teeth and clench their jaws, which of course causes ruination in the mouth.

These problems cannot be fixed by orthodontics, but with other measures, like counseling, therapy, rehabilitation problems, or, as an extreme measure, botox injections into the jaw joints to keep the jaws unclenched when in a resting position.

What braces can do

But certain cases of this problem can be fixed by wearing orthodontics. Sometimes bruxism is due to structural irregularities, like teeth just naturally touching when a resting position is assumed. When you sleep, a resting position is automatically assumed, and if your teeth touch or grind against each other, the result will be similar to bruxism. Certain kinds of irregularities make it much morie comfortable to clench teeth than to rest them, and this can also cause problems.

Considerations

If you are suffering from bruxism, go to a dentist and ask what can be done to help you. When they ask you lifestyle questions, be honest. Tell them what you are doing and what you aren’t doing, this way they can be sure that the method they prescribe will be successful. This way they will be able to tell if getting orthodontics will solve your problem.

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