Bruxism Treatments...

There are a number of bruxism treatments available. First of all I want to say that this blog does not in anyway condone not following a physician's advice. They are the medical doctor, not me. I am here to provide you with the best information that I can find on bruxism, that's all. I am not here to tell you to discount or disregard any information or diagnosis that a certified, medical doctor gives you. I am here to provide you an alternative source of information. As with all medical diagnosis, you should ALWAYS seek a second opinion! Okay let's get to the nitty gritty!

Surgery

Surgery is one of the treatments for bruxism that most people will want to avoid if they can. But the problem is, if your doctor has recommended surgery, then your bruxism has advanced to the point where it has begun to seriously impact your life. The bruxism has advanced and led to many other problems including TMJ. As I told you earlier, TMJ is a very important joint and if your bruxism has affected this joint then you have a whole host of other problems that can lead to major health problems. I would tell you to get a second opinion, but if the second opinion suggests surgery, don't hesitate, get the surgery.

Mouthguards/Dental Guards

In my opinion, the mouthguards are a temporary measure. They do not relieve the bruxism, they just relieve the pressure and the constant grinding of the teeth. Instead of grinding on your teeth, you are grinding on the mouthguard. In some cases, these guards might last a week, depending on the severity of your bruxism. After that you are forced to go back to your local pharmacy and purchase another mouthguard. Thankfully, they are relatively inexpensive.

Bruxism Exercises/Massage

The bruxism exercises/massage address the stress and tightness often associated with teeth grinding. (This particular type of treatment for bruxism is an alternative to the above treatments.) They relieve the stress put on the TMJ. They relieve the stress put on the gums. They also relieve the stress that you have which in many cases, relieves the bruxism altogether. As I pointed out to you in an earlier post, stress is one of the leading causes of bruxism. So therefore if you relive the stress, you relieve the bruxism. Try it, you might be surprised at how much it really works!

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!

Bruxism Answers...

This blog will attempt to answer ALL of your questions regarding bruxism. Bruxism affects over a million people worldwide, so there are a lot of people that have a lot of questions on the subject. With the power and influence of the internet, more and more people are looking for answers on their computers. I'm gonna try my best to answer as many questions and provide as much information as possible. Let's start with the causes of bruxism.

Bruxism causes

Bruxism is the medical term for teeth grinding. This teeth grinding can lead to many different kinds of problems other than bruxism. Because of the wide range of problems associated with bruxism, it has many causes. They range from stress to medication to dental defect. In this blog post I will attempt to show them all.

Stress

Stress is considered to be the number one cause of bruxism. Matter of fact, stress is considered to be the number one cause of a number of ailments. Bruxism in adults is most likely attributed to this stress. We live in a got-to-have-it-now, get-it-done-yesterday kind of world, so who wouldn't be affected by stress? The good news is that with this diagnosis of stress related bruxism, the success rate of recovery is very high.

Medication

Certain medications have been known to cause bruxism. These drugs are known as SSRI's, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. This particular family of drugs is used in the treatment of depression and anxiety/personality disorders. So, if your doctor has recently prescribed you medication from this particular family of drugs, and you have developed bruxism,then you now know why!

Dental Defect

Stress can be attributed to a root cause of bruxism in adults, but what does a child know about bruxism? Absolutely nothing! When it comes to childhood bruxism, a dental defect is most likely the culprit. This defect involves occlusion. Occlusion is simply where the teeth contact. Between the upper and lower jaw. If your occlusion is misaligned, then bruxism is one of the results of this misalignment.

This occlusion can also lead to several other problems, most notably problems with the TMJ, or temporomandibular joint. This joint is key to the pain associated with the grinding of the teeth. This pain has been known to resonate from the teeth to the neck all the way down the back. This problem, if not repaired can lead to a bunch of other problems, ranging from headaches to earpain to eating disorders.