Teeth grinding symptoms: know more about night-time teeth clenching

by jmendoza on Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011 | No Comments

There are several types of sleep disorders that bring misery not just to the sufferer but to the bed partner as well. On top of everything else, if the disorder is noisy, for example like snoring, it truly takes the cake!

Teeth grinding is such a noisy sleep disorder that not only happen during day time, triggered by stress or anxiety, but teeth grinding in sleep can also be a major sleep disrupter for both the victim and whoever is sharing the same bed.

Teeth grinding symptoms: what happens during clenching teeth at night?

Teeth grinding, medically known as bruxism is a purposeless, involuntary activity where the individual gnashes his or her upper set of teeth with the lower set applying pressure. In fact the pressure with which the teeth are clenched is roughly 14 times more than normal chewing pressure exerted during eating, etc. This creates a low grating noise, at times loud enough to wake up the person sleeping in the same bed or room.

Teeth grinding in sleep also referred to as sleep bruxism, mostly go unnoticed unless the bed partner rings the alarm bell. By then dentition is usually irreversibly damaged with chipped enamels, etc and treatment may include elaborate teeth extraction and restoration procedures.

Teeth grinding symptoms: various facets

Teeth grinding symptoms usually impact both dental and muscular functioning of the ear and head. Over time, clenching teeth at night might make totally healthy teeth sensitive. Teeth also become loose and chipped and gums get damaged. Jaws ache accompanied by persistent earache, taut muscles and headaches. The forceful gnashing of teeth may also put the jaw bones out of balance.

Teeth grinding in sleep causes muscular stress and results in the following:

Headaches similar to migraine and tension-types.
Sinus and allergy headaches
Tinnitus
Premenstrual headaches
Tenderness around head
Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) pain

Clenching teeth at night could be related to sleep apnea

According to Dr. Jeffrey Doneskey, Oral Medicine Specialist and founder of The Sleep Apnea & Facial Pain Center in Bellevue “Nighttime clenching is often associated with headaches, jaw pain, jaw popping and locking and other TMJ-related symptoms. People who show evidence of this type of tooth wear may also have sleep apnea as well.”

What is important to note here is that if teeth grinding symptoms are diagnosed to be associated with a current medical condition, treatment modalities would also have to be fine-tuned to control the basic underlying cause.

Teeth grinding symptoms: primary or secondary?

From the above example it is clear that teeth grinding in sleep could well be an after-effect of an existing medical problem. This is a secondary type of teeth grinding; but it can also develop on its own, when it is called primary.

While the exact cause of developing such primary teeth grinding problems is not yet clear, but certain personality types tend to be more prone. Such personalities include people who are aggressive, hyperactive or competitive by nature. Stresses, anxiety, pent-up feelings of frustration, acute embarrassment are some of the emotions that could trigger teeth grinding symptoms. The symptoms could also be due to the consumption of certain types of antidepressants and wrongly aligned teeth formation.

Along with antidepressants, teeth grinding symptoms show up after the intake of stimulants like cocaine, etc. Excessive consumption of caffeine, alcohol and tobacco is known to trigger teeth grinding in sleep. If the individual is currently suffering from teeth grinding at night, consumption of such items usually aggravate the situation further.

Periods of intense stress and anxiety could trigger clenching teeth at night. Repressed or pent-up feelings of anger and frustration are great inducers of teeth clenching.

Teeth grinding symptoms could also be accompanied by: