Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Bruxism Symptoms...

There are a number of symptoms that let the sufferer know that he/she has the condition. The most notable is the person sleeping in the bed with them. Believe it or not, bruxism is one of the most common sleep disorders, and the people affected by it sometimes don't know that they have it. But the people that sleep with them know firsthand!

Relatives/Significant Others

My little brother had this condition growing up, and I had to endure that eerie teeth grinding sound! If you ever have to hear that sound, then you will never forget what it sounds like! Ill! Anyway, he would grind his teeth and I would do what all little kids would do to get him to shut up! I would hit him! I would punch him, kick him, elbow him! Anything to get him to change his sleeping position, because I thought that if he changed his sleeping position, then he would be quiet! Yeah, he would change it alright...,and then he would go right back to grinding his teeth again! I hated it, but eventually I learned to tune it out! I was so happy when I finally got my own room!

Headaches

Oftentimes the bruxer will experience severe headaches in the morning. These headaches are the result of the teeth grinding all night. They are also the result of the constant movement of the TMJ. Like i told you in the earlier post, this particular joint is central in the treatment of bruxism. Over stimulation of this joint will cause all sorts of problems.

Because of it's location and importance the TMJ can cause headaches and pains to resonate from the mouth to the back of the neck all the way down to the base of the spine. If you are experiencing this pain, there are certain bruxism exercises that you can do to relieve yourself of this pain.

Damaged Teeth

Damaged teeth are a direct result of grinding your teeth all night. You will have damaged teeth and damaged your dental fillings. When you bring this to your doctor's attention, this is when he/she will attempt to prescribe you with the mouthguards. These mouthguards are a temporary fix. There have been cases where the recipient of the mouthguard chewed through it in about a week! They then had to go back to the pharmacy and get another one!

These are just some of the symptoms of bruxism.(Check out that link to see more of them at wikipedia.com). But to be fair, I must mention sleep apnea. Sleep apnea,TMJ,and bruxism are all related. Sometimes a person will have all three conditions. Sometimes just one. It depends on the severity of the condition. All three conditions warrant a visit to your family doctor!

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