Teeth grinding or Bruxism is a pretty common dental problem, affecting 8–31% of the general population. Bruxism may cause tooth wear and even damage the dental restorations such as crowns and fillings. It can also lead to jaw disorders, headaches, damaged teeth and other dental problems.

Bruxism is classified into 2 types – awake bruxism and sleep bruxism.

Awake bruxism is characterised by involuntary clenching of the teeth and jaw bracing in reaction to certain stimuli. There is generally no teeth grinding with awake bruxism. One of the most common bruxism cause is unmanageable stress during your waking hours. Sleep bruxism is characterised by automatic teeth grinding with rhythmic and sustained jaw muscle contractions. It is so loud and obvious that it often tends to wake up one’s sleeping partner as well. Teeth grinding in sleep involves the whole central nervous system. It can be caused by many different factors. If you suffer from daytime sleepiness, your teeth grinding in sleep may be caused by a sleep disorder.

If you are suffering from this dental problem, the bruxism symptoms can be as follows:

• Dull headache originating in the temples
• Teeth that are flattened, fractured, chipped or loose
• Tooth fractures and repeated failure of dental restorations (fillings, crowns, etc.)
• Hypersensitive teeth caused by worn tooth enamel, exposing deeper layers of your tooth
• Inflammation of the periodontal ligament of teeth may make them sore to bite on, and make the jaw pain
• Clicking of the temporomandibular joints
• Loud and obvious teeth grinding or clenching during sleep
• Pain that feels like an earache
• Damage from chewing on the inside of your cheek
• Burning sensation on the tongue possibly related to a coexistent tongue thrusting
• Indentations of the teeth in the tongue
• Increase in the size of the muscles that move the jaw and the feeling of tenderness, pain or fatigue during jaw movement
• Restricted mouth opening

If your bruxism is related to tooth problems, your dentist will probably correct your tooth alignment. In some extreme cases, the dentist may use crowns to entirely reshape the biting surfaces of the patient’s teeth. The dentist also recommend a mouth guard that fits the patient’s mouth, to prevent further damage to the teeth. It may help your teeth and muscles to realign. He may also recommend you to use best ayurvedic toothpaste - Dabur Red. If your bruxism is stress-related, try professional counselling, psychotherapy, meditation etc. to help relax yourself. If your problem is persistent, the best solution for bruxism treatment is to see a doctor and he might subscribe some stress- releasing medications to you. You may also receive a prescription muscle relaxant to temporarily ease the spasm in your jaw. You can also ask your dentist for a custom-made bite plate. If this does not help, visit an oral surgeon who has advanced training in head and neck pain. Maintain proper oral hygiene and choose the right toothpaste to keep all dental problems away & ensure proper dental care.