When you grind your teeth on a regular basis, this is referred to as bruxism. Without treatment, bruxism could damage your smile and cause painful complications. But we can help, from treatment to repair for any damage you have sustained. In today’s blog, your Prairie Village, KS, dentist talks about how we diagnose and treat teeth grinding.
The Causes and Risks of Bruxism
Why do we develop teeth grinding? For some, this could be due to a high level of stress in your daily life. For others, this could be due to factors that upset bite balance, such as missing teeth, dental misalignment, injuries to the face or jaw, wisdom tooth eruption, or issues with the growth of your jaw. Without treatment, the regular grinding and clenching could wear down enamel or even crack or chip a tooth. This injures the tooth and leaves your smile vulnerable to issues like tooth decay and even dental infection.
The Link to TMJ Disorder
In some cases, teeth grinding could lead to TMJ disorder or vice versa. TMJ disorder means there is imbalance in your bite and stress on your jaw joints. This pressure could upset how fully you can open and close your mouth, and without treatment, could lead to painful symptoms like headaches, jaw and facial aches, and a popping or clicking in the jaw. These same symptoms could occur if you grind your teeth too. You may also notice tooth sensitivity or even toothaches.
Oral Appliances and Restorative Care
To treat issues like TMJ disorder and bruxism, we could take detailed images and measurements of your bite, and use them to custom-fit an oral appliance. The device will look and fit like a mouthguard, but once in place the appliance will shift the jaw to ease jaw joint strain. To prevent further bruxism-related damage, this will place a barrier between the upper and lower sets of teeth, so you avoid further chips or cracks to the teeth. The appliance is easy to use and clean, and can travel with you too.
If you have damage due to bruxism, then our team could offer lifelike repair with restorative dentistry. For minor damage, we could offer improvement in one visit with dental bonding. For more severe injuries, we could create and place custom dental crowns. If you have any questions about how we diagnose and treat concerns like bruxism or TMJ disorder, or if you want to schedule a consultation with our team, then contact our office today.
Dr. Browne, D.D.S. Offers Care With Comprehensive Dentistry
Our team wants to find the solution for your teeth grinding so you can preserve your smile. To find out more about our comprehensive treatment options, then call Dr. Browne in Prairie Village, KS, at 913-901-8585.
