When you grind your teeth or clench them on a regular basis, typically at night, this is known as bruxism. Without treatment, the disorder could damage your teeth and wear down tooth enamel, leaving you vulnerable to oral health complications. But we can help! In today’s blog, your Rowlett, TX, dentist talks about our bruxism guard.
The Factors Behind Teeth Grinding
Teeth grinding can wear down enamel and damage them, increasing the risk of tooth decay and dental infection too. This can also change the appearance of your smile with teeth appearing shorter than normal. The disorder could be caused by issues like untreated TMD or even high stress levels in your daily life. Other causes could include misalignment, missing teeth, injury to your jaw or face, or issues with the growth of your jaw or the arrival of your permanent teeth, or the eruption of wisdom teeth. As part of your treatment, we will carefully examine your smile to assess the cause and extent of the concerns, so we can offer the most appropriate treatment option.
The Warning Signs of Bruxism
People with bruxism often grind or clench their teeth at night, so unless a significant other alerts them about the episodes, they may not realize this is happening. But these are symptoms that occur during waking hours that should be aware of, such as toothaches, tooth sensitivity, headaches, and jaw and facial pain. When you begin to experience one or more of these potential symptoms, then you should reach out to our team right away for treatment. We want to offer care that restores your smile and prevents further damage, with options like custom crowns or dental bonding, we can repair the damage that also occurs so you enjoy your best smile again.
Creating a Custom Guard
For many patients, we can offer treatment with a custom guard, one that looks and fits like a mouthguard, but has been custom-fitted for a proper fit. The device will be worn as you sleep and helps reposition the jaw to ease the underlying causes of your strain and stress. These also act as a barrier between the upper and lower sets of teeth to prevent further damage to your smile. We could also discuss options to address misalignment, prosthetics to take on missing teeth, and custom restorations to address damaged or worn-down structures.
If you have any questions about how we design and implement treatment options for bruxism, or if you have symptoms of teeth grinding and need to see the dentist, then contact our team today to learn more. We want to help you enjoy a comfortable and healthy smile again!
SCHEDULE YOUR NEXT CHECKUP APPOINTMENT TODAY
We would like to help you enjoy a healthy and comfortable smile free of bruxism-related discomfort. To learn more about how our team addresses teeth grinding, call Rodem Tree Dental in Rowlett, TX, today at 972-475-2321.