Grinding your teeth when asleep
17-02-2012
There are a number of different sleep related disorders that plague people. While many, like insomnia and sleep walking, are well known and often talked about, others feature less prominently and are often rarely discussed. One such sleep disorder is Bruxism, or tooth grinding.
This sleep disorder is more common than most people think and while it is generally quite mild it can have really serious consequences, with the worst forms of tooth grinding affecting the quantity and quality of your sleep and damaging your teeth and gums.
Generally people discover that they are grinding their teeth at night because their partner tells them. This is not a full proof method though, as some people do not have partners and others have partners who are deep sleepers that would never noticed the grinding occurring.
Often dentists might suspect a patient is grinding their teeth at night and will suggest the use of a mouth guard to prevent serious damage.
The symptoms of teeth grinding are: tooth pain, painful gums, damaged teeth, sore jaw muscles, jaw stiffness upon waking, headaches and broken sleep. If you experience any of these symptoms then it could be that you are grinding your teeth when you sleep.
If you are worried about tooth grinding then you should visit either your doctor or dentist.
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