bruxism-e

Night grinding / clenching is a quite a common phenomenon where teeth may become unconsciously attrited. The cause is unknown and has been attributed to stress or sometimes uneven bite. It should be alleviated to protect teeth and supporting structures from further damage. Patients may or may not have symptoms depending on the severity of the attrition

Night grinding or clenching is often a nocturnal habit and patient may be unaware of it.

Signs and Symptoms

1 Joints may feel sore on waking

2 Teeth may feel sensitive to temperature changes due to the wearing of the enamel

3 Others may complain of 'noises' during the sleep due to the grinding of teeth

4 The teeth shows signs of wear with the yellow dentine showing through . They also shows loss of height and sometimes abfractions or cavities at the necks of the teeth may appear.

A night guard is needed to prevent further wear of the teeth