Untreated bruxism (teeth grinding) can lead to serious damage such as chipped teeth, swollen gums, and a misaligned jaw. Patients that are struggling with bruxism should take a look at these five tips to protect their oral health and improve their overall quality of life.
Pay Attention to the Signs of Bruxism
Due to the fact that teeth grinding often takes place while a patient is sleeping, many people have this condition without even realizing it. Some of the most common signs of teeth grinding include chronic headaches, fatigued jaws, and sore facial muscles.
Improve Your Quality of Sleep
Teeth grinding often takes place when an individual is in their lightest stages of sleep, and this means that improving one’s quality of sleep could lessen the side effects of this condition. Patients should reduce the amount of caffeine and alcohol that they consume just before bed and make it a point to have a consistent sleep schedule that will allow them to enter into the REM part of their sleep cycle as quickly as possible.
Consciously Relax Your Jaw
Bruxism is generally the result of a patient subconsciously tightening their jaw, and this forces the upper and lower teeth to grind against one another. Many specialists suggest that patients set a timer on their phone once a day and then take a few moments when their timer goes off to consciously relax their jaw. This works best during stressful parts of the day such as one’s commute.
Remove Stressors From Your Life
Chronic stress can also be a major contributing factor. There are countless methods that can be used to reduce one’s stress levels including yoga, meditation, therapy, and rigorously exercising at least 150 minutes a week.
Get a Custom Night Guard
Anyone that has bruxism or believes they are developing this condition should also seek out professional medical assistance as quickly as possible. Places like Periodontal Specialists can provide a patient with a number of treatment options such as a custom night guard to prevent teeth grinding in the middle of the night.
Oral health issues such as teeth grinding should never be taken lightly. In addition to causing serious damage, they can also be a sign of other problems taking place such as bone deformities. These five simple tips will help patients put an end to their teeth grinding while maintaining a straight and healthy smile.
*Our content is not intended to provide medical advice or diagnosis of individual problems or circumstances, nor should it be implied that we are a substitute for professional medical advice. Users / readers are always advised to consult their Healthcare Professional prior to starting any new remedy, therapy or treatment. Your Wellness Group accepts no liability in the event you, a user of n-gage and a reader of this article, suffers a loss as a result of reliance upon or inappropriate application of the information.