Search Results for: teeth grinding

Reasons for teeth grinding

27. June 2016 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

A hyperactivity of the masticatory muscle is called “teeth grinding (bruxism)”. Here, especially during night the teeth are subconsciously pressed together and sometimes move back and forth in a grinding movement. This grinding harms teeth and jaw on long term. It may lead to tense masticatory muscles, tooth pain as well as to an abraded chewing surface or crevices of tooth enamel. Teeth grinding mainly occurs at night. Only ten to 20 percent of people concerned know that they are teeth grinding. The rest gets informed by their dentist or partner.

Causes for teeth grinding

Actually, we only need our teeth during eating. In total about one hour per day. Teeth grinding or pressing mostly occurs during sleeping. Women are more concerned. Usually stress is leading to teeth grinding. Here, the body tries to process stress during night, the inner tension is transferred to the masticatory muscle and the muscle starts to work. Besides stress, a dysfunction in the chewing region might be another cause, a poorly fitting dental prosthesis or a dental filling too high, for example. Functional disturbances of the mandibular joint might cause teeth grinding as well.

Effects of teeth grinding

Obliquely abraded chewing surface
Gum bleeding
Tense masticatory muscles
Crevices of tooth enamel
Regression of the gums
Tooth imprints on the edge of the tongue
In the worst case, teeth grinding might lead to a loosening of the teeth or even to tooth loss.
Furthermore, inflammation and irreparable harm in the mandibular joint might arise.
Due to the strong activity of the masticatory muscles headache, tensions in back and neck, visual disturbances, sleep disturbances, tiredness and exhaustion might arise.

Teeth grinding of babies and children

Teeth grinding of babies often is normal, since they just get to know their teeth. Normally, the grinding should stop when all milk teeth are complete. But with infants and children too, stress might be the reason for teeth grinding. Often, without any apparent reason. Call the attention of your child when the grinding occurs during daytime because they often don’t realize the grinding. Seek medical advice when the teeth grinding lasts for a longer period of time or when your child is having toothache.

Treatment options

Of course it makes sense to relieve stress with relaxation exercises as well as to get to know the personal stress triggers and to eliminate them as far as possible. In case of tensions of the masticatory muscles or of toothache consult your dentist. The dentist checks your teeth and adjusts poorly fitting dental prosthesis or improper fillings, if necessary. This might already be the solution.

If your problems don’t cease, think about using a mouth guard. These guards prevent grinding and support an evenly spread pressure distribution. But, these guards don’t easy the tension of the mandibular joint. The musculature of the jaw and the neck can be eased with massage, relaxation exercises and work with the fascial tissue.

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Grinding of teeth during sleep: health risk for body and mind 

24. March 2020 von Schlafexperte Prof. Dr. med. h.c. Günther W. Amann-Jennson Leave a Comment

Extreme grinding can lead to tooth loss .
Tendency decreases with age .
Psychological stress as the most common cause of teeth grinding .
Physiotherapy and autogenic training can help

One in five does it – often without knowing it: in many bedrooms people grind their teeth night after night. This leaves traces on the enamel, the quality of sleep and thus also on general good health.  

Often, the first thing that the dentist notices is, what is going on in the patient’s sleep: ground down teeth, sharp edges or enamel cracks indicate night-time teeth grinding. Even fillings and implants can suffer damage and necks of teeth can be exposed. But even without this information, the person concerned could suspect that the jaw muscles are anything but resting at night. If they are working for hours during sleep, it is not uncommon to wake up with severe headaches and facial pain, migraines and tinnitus can also occur.

The strongest muscle in the human body

Known in technical jargon as bruxism, grinding of teeth denotes a rhythmic activity of the masticatory musculature. During sleep, it may show what it is actually capable of: When grinding teeth at night, the tooth surfaces are pressed against one another with an enormous pressure of up to 480 kg / cm², which corresponds to about ten times the force exerted when chewing food. No other muscle can act more powerfully on an external object, which is why the masticatory muscle is considered the strongest muscle in the human body. And that leaves its mark – for example on tooth enamel and dentine, or in the form of damaged fillings and implants. In extreme cases, even the pulp and nerve may suffer, sometimes leading to tooth loosening and tooth loss.

A question of age?

A distinction is generally made between primary sleep bruxism, which cannot be assigned to a clear cause; secondary bruxism, which occurs in connection with other diseases, such as neurological diseases or various sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea; and iatrogenic sleep bruxism, which is triggered as a side effect of medications such as some psychotropic drugs and antidepressants. Officially, there is no general cure for the cause of primary sleep bruxism, i.e. the form of teeth grinding that does not appear as a side effect of medication or as a symptom of a disease. The good news is that the tendency to grind your teeth decreases with age. According to estimates, 14% to 18% of children are affected, but only 5% to 6% of adults and 3% of seniors.

Psychological stress encourages teeth grinding

In order to get closer to the cause of teeth grinding, some self-observation is advisable. Do I tense my jaw repeatedly during the day? Is my tongue really relaxed or is it pressing against something? Am I breathing calmly and deeply enough? Physical tension often indicates a deeper, mental and psychological stress. Negative emotional stress is regarded as the undisputed leader among the causes of night-time teeth grinding. Sleep bruxism is not uncommon, especially in people with anxiety disorders, but it can also occur temporarily in periods of intense emotional stress. A therapeutic approach is advisable if you develop e.g. chronic pain, or if dentition is permanently damaged.

How do I get rid of teeth grinding?

How can you actively do something about the grinding of your teeth? First of all, a dental examination is necessary. Sometimes one needs a precise analysis of the masticatory apparatus to clarify problems with the temporomandibular joint. Usually, however, an occlusal splint is prescribed. The grinding is only treated symptomatically, but at least the teeth and joints are being protected.

Since psychological stress is often the basis, stress management is particularly important. Behavioural therapy or psychological support can help especially with an increased perception of stress – relaxation techniques such as autogenic training or progressive muscle relaxation are considered promising measures. Medications for muscle relaxation will sometimes be prescribed, but usually only for a short time to avoid possible side effects. Sometimes, an injection of the neurotoxin Botox will be applied to loosen the jaw muscle, but is not recommended due to possible bone resorption. Physiotherapy is more advisable, such as massage or special stretching exercises for the jaw. Also, in the wider context, attention should be paid to the muscles and physiotherapeutic treatment be considered, since the cervical spine and the position of the head affects the position of the jaw: if the head is pushed too far forward, as is often the case with computer work or excessive use of the smart phone, then this may lead to tension in the muscles of the jaw. Summarizing, it can be said that almost everything that brings mental and physical relaxation can help prevent teeth grinding.

Image source: Fotolia

Sleep disturbances a wide spread disease

18. May 2016 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

Nowadays, every fourth person suffers under sleep disturbances. The international classification of sleep disturbances (ICSD-3), published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), differentiates between 97 different sleep disturbances. For being able to regenerate, body and mind need regularly sufficient sleep. A lack of sleep has severe consequences. But, when do we talk about a sleep disturbance? Then, when over a period from one to three months the problem is occurring at least three times a week.

Causes of sleeplessness

The causes are manifold. The most common causes for falling asleep or sleeping through disturbances are stress or mental illnesses. Wrong handling of sleep might also be a trigger of sleeplessness as well as irregular sleeping times. Here, shift workers and nurses are especially concerned. A further reason for sleep disturbances also might be psychiatric disorders like depressions, anxiety or eating disorders.

Forms of sleeplessness

Sleep disturbances can be divided into six main groups:

Insomnias: disturbances to fall asleep or to sleep through
Sleep apnoea: a sleep related respiratory disorder. Here, slackening throat muscles cause a blockage of the upper airways during the night. This life-threatening sleep disorder has many consequences: increased blood pressure and hence increased stroke- and infarction-risk, risk of brain damages due to oxygen deficiency, daytime sleepiness due to several arousals (mostly unaware), etc.
Hypersomnia: their causes are in the central nervous system. Example: narcolepsy.
Parasomnia: night mares, sleep walking and nocturnal outcry
Disturbances in the circadian rhythm: a disturbance of the inner clock
Sleep related movement disorders: restless legs or nocturnal teeth grinding (bruxism)

Impacts and consequences

Sleepless nights and their consequences are not only affecting our health but also our everyday life. Side effects caused by sleeplessness are diminishing performance, state of exhaustion and extreme tiredness. Once sleep disturbances become chronic the consequences might be far worse.

Generally, seek medical advice when your sleeping problems are longer lasting. But, there are some simple things you can do to support your sleep. At any case, a regular sleep-wake-cycle or relaxation methods like autogenous training, for example, are to be preferred to medication.

Indications for sleep disturbances

14. April 2016 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

The causes for sleep disturbances are manifold and influence our everyday life. When you are suffering under bad sleep you are not rested the next morning and are not fit enough for the day. Consequences of sleep disturbances might be concentration problems, exhaustion, daytime-sleepiness and listlessness. But, how do you realize that you suffer under sleep disturbances?

You are wide awake in the evening
You hardly fall asleep and are awake for several hours without actually being tired. Try to only go to bed, when you really are tired. Don’t think about not being able to fall asleep, try to divert yourself. Read a book or listen to relaxing music.

You don’t sleep through the night
In case you wake up several times each night and stay awake longer this might be an indication for a sleep disturbance. Instead of staying in bed and permanently keeping an eye on the clock you’d better get up and occupy yourself until you get tired again.

You don’t hear the alarm clock going off
One reason for this might be that you just are in a phase of deep sleep when the alarm goes off. Try to find out your sleeping rhythm. How much sleep do you need and when is the perfect time to go to bed? Once found out, it would be best to stick to your sleeping rhythm on the weekends, too.

Sweating at night
A disease or fever might be reason for strong sweating at night. If this is not the case, a too high room temperature might be reason for your sweating. The ideal room temperature in your bedroom is between 61° and 64° F. Also try sheep wool for your bedding. Its characteristics is very useful in preventing from sweating.

You are sleepwalking
About one to two percent of all adults are concerned by regular sleepwalking. Many don’t even get up, they just shortly sit up and lay down again. But, there are sleepwalkers that do get up, do some everyday activities like washing the dishes, walking around, opening and closing doors. Most of the times, sleep walking only lasts for a couple of minutes. Besides a possible heredity, lack of sleep and stress might trigger sleep walking. In case you are a sleep walker care for a proper sleep hygiene.

You are talking in your sleep
This especially disturbs your bedfellow. Nightly talking can simply be mumbling some syllables or even speak some words or even sentences. Often, the sleeping person is not aware of the talking. Trigger often are stress or fever. Relaxation exercises support reduction of night-time speaking.

You are snoring
Snoring not only disturbs your partner but also might lead to an unnoticed awakening of people concerned. Try to sleep on your side when you are snoring.

You are teeth grinding
Stress is triggering night-time teeth grinding. Most of the time, people concerned don’t even notice it themselves. Often it only gets detected when the dentist or the partner give alarm. Teeth grinding not only impairs sleep it also might lead to jaw pain and to wearing off the teeth. Short-term help is some kind of a mouth guard but in long-term only stress reduction helps.

Restless-Leg-Syndrome
In case, your arm and/or your legs periodically are twitching at night your sleep gets disturbed several times. Seek medical advice when you are suffering at night under movement disorders (restless legs) and during day under exhaustion and tiredness.

You are feeling exhausted and tired during the day
Besides lack of sleep, there are other reasons for tiredness and exhaustion (for example: disturbed hormonal balance, lack of exercise, thyroid gland). Seek medical advice when you experience persistent tiredness throughout a couple of weeks.

An insidious danger – the fatal consequences of pain in the neck

9. February 2016 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

When our muscles are sore its a signal of our body that something is wrong. He is kind of forewarning before something more serious is going to happen and thereby gives us the possibility to react. The same thing applies for pain in the neck. When we fail to go to the doctor’s on time chronical head ache might arise – one, even pills often are not able to counteract. But: if you only treat the pain and not its cause (in our case tense neck muscles) it’s only going to be a temporary improvement and the more intense it is going to return. Furthermore, excessive consummation of pain-relieving medication may lead to kidney damages or head ache due to medication.

A further consequence of neck tensions on our body are disturbances in breathing and dysphonia. When your neck is tense, your airways, masticatory muscles and vocal cords knot. People who suffer under a painful neck often are only able to breath shallowly and pressed. This is an enormous impairment in a lot of everyday situations. Nighttime teeth grinding (bruxism) can be due to a tense neck. When the muscles in your neck start to soften again, your breathing as well as your teeth grinding start to improve.

When something is hurtful we avoid any movement that might worsen the pain. And this exactly is the problem: by avoiding any movement of the neck- and shoulder-area severe inflammations of the shoulder-joints might arise. This in turn leads to a susceptibility of calcium deposits in the tendons. A tense neck is not only harmful for head, neck and shoulders. Possibly, the pain in the neck might spread into the whole back. The tense muscles lead to an unnatural pressure on our vertebras. And this further leads to the fact that our intervertebral discs are not sufficiently supplied with nutrients and start to become thin and brittle.

Meanwhile, for most of us pain in the neck is unpleasant, yes, but still common. But it is very important to effectively do something against these tensions. Even if the pain is bearable in the beginning, they might lead to serious health risks and are harmful for our whole body, even up to things like blood pressure and heartbeat. Proper exercises, sufficient movement and the suitable pillow support the release of these tensions. Finally, you are able to say goodbye to your pain in the neck!

Different sleep disturbances and their causes

3. February 2016 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

Nowadays always everyone suffers under sleep disturbances from time to time. It’s irrelevant whether we are talking about fall-asleep- or sleep-through-disturbances – the result is always the same: decreasing performance capability, state of exhaustion and pronounced daytime sleepiness are just the beginning. Chronical sleep disturbances may be the cause for far more severe diseases. Here, we are not only talking about physical consequences like high blood-pressure or gastrointestinal disorder, for example, but about mental stress like depressions as well. Although sleep medicine already knows more than 80 different expressions of sleep disorders, they may be roughly divided into four groups.

The most common reasons for fall-asleep- and sleep-through-disturbances are excessive stress or mental diseases. The symptoms persons affected might suffer under may also originate from handling sleep wrong. At any case, the cause of the so-called insomnia should be clarified with a doctor to exclude severe physical causes and to fight sleep disturbances at their source.

Many people suffer under daytime sleepiness and feeling drained although they think that they are having a good and sufficient sleep. Momentary nodding off is not only an unpleasant but also a dangerous side effect. Most of the time, hypersomnia or simple excessive daytime sleepiness has physical causes. They may be very different (snoring, short breathing stops, restless-legs-syndrome etc.) but most of the time they are leading to the fact that people affected shortly wake up several times during night and that their sleep frequently is disturbed. The sleeping person doesn’t realize these short phases of waking up, he only notices the consequences on the following day. Even neurological causes may be a reason.

Narcolepsy is a disturbance of the sleep-wake-cycle in the brain which may be the consequence of the wrong bed or an unfavorable bedroom-climate. Especially when the affected persons work in an office or when sitting a long time in a car the so-called stand-sit-dynamics is recommendable. Here, periodical phases of standing and walking interrupt the permanent sitting and the accompanying tiredness. When suffering under disturbances of the sleep-wake-cycle-rhythm the sleep is perfectly alright, it just arrives at the wrong time. A jetlag for example may cause such disturbances. As soon as the body is used to the new rhythm, this disturbance disappears. But, if your inner clock is permanently defect, it may be harmful for your health in the long run. And may be hazardous for yourself as well as for your environment.

Last but not least there are sleep disturbances that occur during sleeping or in the transition from sleeping to waking up. Here, the most common example is sleepwalking. Teeth grinding and night mares also belong to the so-called parasomnias. When treating affected people it turned out that even information about healthy sleep lead to great progress.

In general, longer lasting sleep disturbances always should be medically attained. But, there are some simple steps that improve the own sleep, steps everyone can do by himself. Structuration of the sleep-wake-cycle with regular go-to-bed-times or autogenous training for example are clearly preferable to medication.