Imagine a force 3 to 10 times greater than what\u2019s required to crack a walnut. Now picture that force hammering inside your mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ve just imagined bruxism, more commonly known as grinding of the teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This clash of teeth against teeth was called \u201cbrukh\u00e9,\u201d or gnashing, by the ancient Greeks. Nowadays, experts tend to agree that bruxism is more nuanced and varied than that: Characterized by some as a \u201cbehavior\u201d and by others as a \u201cdisorder\u201d in otherwise healthy individuals, bruxism is repetitive jaw muscle activity that involves grinding, clenching, bracing, or thrusting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wakeful clenching, known as daytime or awake bruxism, and sleep grinding, known as sleep or nighttime bruxism, are related but distinct conditions with both unique and shared treatment protocols. Some people engage in a combination of the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGrinding of the teeth is officially bruxism, while clenching, which is related, is a different parafunctional jaw habit,\u201d says\u00a0James M. Uyanik, DDS<\/a>, a clinical assistant professor at New York University College of Dentistry in New York City and the director of the NYU Orofacial and Head Pain Clinic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost half of all children<\/a>\u00a0go through a period of nighttime grinding, while\u00a0up to one-third of the general U.S. population<\/a>\u00a0experiences bruxism at some point in their lives, according to the Academy of General Dentistry, a professional organization of general dentists from the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If Google searches are any indication,\u00a0research<\/a>\u00a0shows bruxism has risen since the\u00a0COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>\u00a0began \u2014 not surprising, given bruxism\u2019s link to stress. Still, oral health professionals such as\u00a0Anne Clemons, DMD<\/a>, a general dentist with the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, say bruxism is dramatically underreported \u2014 \u201cespecially these days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That may be in part because many grinders and gnashers have no idea that they\u2019re bruxing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a\u00a0study published in 2019 by the\u00a0Journal of Research in Medical Sciences<\/em><\/a><\/em>out of Isfahan University, many youngsters who grind outgrow the problem before adulthood. Those who continue into maturity and those who acquire the habit later in life range from occasional bruxers to powerful gnashers who can shatter dental work. \u201cAnyone can be a bruxer,\u201d says Dr. Uyanik. But some people are more at risk than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The stressed<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cSomeone undergoing major changes or facing stressful events, such as moving to a new location, starting a new job, dealing with a birth, a marriage, a death, or a divorce in the family, is at particular risk,\u201d Uyanik says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A\u00a0study published in the September 2019 issue of the\u00a0International Journal of Environmental Research\u00a0and\u00a0Public Health<\/em><\/a>\u00a0found a strong positive correlation between perceived\u00a0stress levels<\/a>\u00a0and the amount of grinding. This relationship was dramatically, albeit anecdotally, illustrated in an\u00a0ABC News story<\/a>\u00a0from July 2021, about U.S. dentists reports of cracked teeth and broken dental work \u2014 casualties of intense grinding \u2014 soaring during the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEven when people are oblivious to their own grinding,\u201d Dr. Rao says, \u201cstressful background conditions can increase it, and this pandemic has been a major one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Problem sleepers\u00a0<\/strong>With the majority of bruxers overworking their jaw muscles overnight, Dr. Clemons begins the diagnostic journey with queries about sleep. \u201cI\u2019ll ask whether it\u2019s good and restful, or if there\u2019s some other disorder involved,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, a misaligned bite (when the bottom and top teeth don\u2019t properly meet) and breathing problems during sleep, such as\u00a0nocturnal asthma<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0sleep apnea<\/a>, can occasionally contribute to nighttime bruxism. Indeed, nighttime bruxism is often considered a sleep disorder that calls for people to have their overnight behavior monitored and analyzed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt could be critical in identifying possible additional sleep and breathing concerns that may contribute to or be related to bruxism events while sleeping, so they don\u2019t go unaddressed,\u201d Clemons says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Caffeine or alcohol users and abusers<\/strong>\u00a0Excessive consumption of coffee or alcohol can increase the tendency to grind, possibly by altering sleep patterns through overstimulation and\u00a0dehydration<\/a>, respectively. Tobacco and recreational drugs may also be bruxism risk factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Genetically predisposed<\/strong>\u00a0An\u00a0article in the Spring 2020\u00a0Journal of Craniomaxillofacial Research<\/em><\/a>\u00a0described\u00a0a genetic predisposition to grind, and\u00a0one study, reported online in the January 2018\u00a0Biomedical Reports<\/em><\/a>, suggested that bruxers tend to share traits such as anxiety. Occasionally, an inherited dental misalignment will lead to bruxism. \u201cFor these people, the grinding will decrease after we improve the problem with their bite,\u201d says Clemons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Antidepressant users\u00a0<\/strong>Bruxism is among the rare but possible side effects of some selective\u00a0serotonin<\/a>\u00a0reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)\u00a0antidepressants<\/a>, which rank among the most-prescribed drugs in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease or other conditions\u00a0<\/strong>People with Parkinson\u2019s disease, dementia, gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD),\u00a0epilepsy<\/a>, night terrors, or\u00a0attention deficit hyperactivity disorder<\/a>\u00a0(ADHD) are more likely than the general population to develop a bruxing habit, according to the\u00a0Mayo Clinic<\/a>. So, too, are people who face some ongoing mental illnesses.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Imagine a force 3 to 10 times greater than what\u2019s required to crack a walnut. Now picture that force hammering inside your mouth. You\u2019ve just imagined bruxism, more commonly known as grinding of the teeth. This clash of teeth against teeth was called \u201cbrukh\u00e9,\u201d or gnashing, by the ancient Greeks. Nowadays, experts tend to agree […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7,6,8],"class_list":["post-137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dental-health","tag-health","tag-tooth-grinding"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/csbdental.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/artticle-1.jpg?fit=1110%2C624&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/csbdental.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/csbdental.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/csbdental.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csbdental.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csbdental.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/csbdental.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139,"href":"https:\/\/csbdental.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137\/revisions\/139"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csbdental.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/csbdental.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csbdental.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csbdental.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Who\u2019s at Risk for Teeth Grinding?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n