DANGERS OF TEETH CLENCHING AND GRINDING

     Our upper and lower teeth are  supposed to glide together smoothly,  touching only when we are chewing food.  Unnatural grinding or clenching can cause wearing and cracking of the teeth, as well as serious jaw impairment.

      The reality is that all of us grind our teeth on occasion- when we are angry or anxious, for instance, or when our sleep is disturbed.  But when we grind our teeth on a regular basis, we have a condition called bruxism.

    If  bruxing  persists , as it does in an estimated 20 % of the population during waking hours and 8 % during, sleep, it can have a negative effect on tooth enamel, bone, gums and the jaw.

     In the past grinding (sideways movement of the jaws, with the teeth just touching) were believed to be caused by malocclusion (a bad bite).  However, the latest  research seems to point to lifestyle reflexes – our way of dealing with anxiety and stress – as the primary cause, with sleep disturbances and malocclusion as secondary and tertiary causes.

     Bruxism can start early in life, while the teeth are still in the process of developing.  An estimated 15 % of children reportedly grind or clench their teeth.  Sometimes this ceases with the eruption of the permanent teeth.

      Teeth are held in the mouth similar   to the way the canvas is held on a trampoline – instead of springs, teeth are held in  with thousand of  periodontal fibers that run from the teeth to the bone.  When we bite on something the teeth move and the periodontal ligament fibers are compressed a stretched.  During the day, when the fibers are compressed, signals are sent to higher brain centers that stop the compression if  forces are to great.  During the night when we are sleeping, that safety mechanism does not work and we can exert 20 to 30 times the force on the teeth that we exert during the day.

      Clenching is more likely to occur during the daytime, with women likerlier to clench than men.  One therory is that women are more predisposed to be vigilant.  For example, they are more alert to the soud of a baby crying.  This type of conscious atterntiveness translates into more frequent closing of the jaw rather than sidewyas grinding motions.

     The consequences of bruxism can produce a wide range of damage that include:

                 *  Front teeth worn down.

                 *  Micro-cracks and broken fillings

                 *  Gum recession  due to pressure on the gumline.

                 *  Loose teeth.

                 *  Headaches and aching jaws and muscles.

     Treatment of bruxism  consists of the construction of an occlusal guard.  This is a plastic form that covers the upper teeth and designed so that it eliminates the cusp-fossa relation between the upper and lower teeth.  It is a flat plane that allows  the lower teeth to move in any direction without  interference.  It eliminates the locking between the upper and lower teeth, it places a material  in between the upper and lower teeth that will wear insead of the teeth, and it places a space in between the upper and lower teeth that takes the pressure off the jaw joint.