Sleep Bruxism (teeth grinding)

Sleep disorders can affect us in many ways, causing lifestyle impacts and more, but sleep bruxism causes unique problems. Also known as teeth grinding, it is highlighted by jaw clenching and other similar behaviours during sleep.

It affects about 5% of Australians, and while it is often associated with childhood sleep problems, it can also affect adults. Around 30% of Australian children show some signs of teeth grinding during their lives, but most will grow out of it with no long-term effects as they get older.

What is Sleep Bruxism?

Sleep Bruxism is a form of teeth grinding that occurs as you sleep. It is common in children, who may experience symptoms for a short time, but severe and ongoing symptoms affect both children and adults.

In most cases, you won’t be aware if you or your child suffer from this teeth-gnashing type of problem. It can be difficult even to know you are suffering from Sleep Bruxism until the symptoms start to show.

The most apparent sign of teeth grinding in your sleep is issues with the teeth themselves. Cracked or chipped teeth, damaged fillings, and teeth becoming loose are all signs of wear that jaw clenching can cause.

Photo by Adrian Infernus on Unsplash

However, if your teeth ache when you wake up, this could be an early warning of sleep bruxism, while an aching jaw while you eat could also suggest an issue. Pay attention to these symptoms; if you or your loved ones feel this pain, it is worth investigating. That way, it can be caught before it leads to damage to the teeth themselves.

What are some of the causes of Sleep Bruxism?

Like most sleep disorders, identifying the key reason you suffer from them is exceptionally challenging. There is no defined ‘cause’ for teeth grinding yet; however, sleep bruxism is more common than some sleep disorders, so it is a little more understood.

Many factors are found to be shared among sufferers. These include:

• ADHD
• Age
• Anxiety
• Caffeine consumption
• Certain medications
• Dementia
• Epilepsy
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Recreational drug use
• Sleep Disorders
• Smoking
• Stress
• Teeth misalignment

The consistent effect of all these things is that they disrupt sleep somehow. In the case of drugs, smoking, alcohol and so on, they also act as stimulants, which can cause the involuntary tightening of the jaw, leading to teeth grinding.

While age is a factor in that sleep bruxism is quite a common issue for children, they do tend to grow out of it quickly with no lasting effects. As with adults, it is rare for it to continue becoming an issue that needs ongoing treatment.

Are there any treatments or cures for those who grind their teeth in sleep?

The good news is that sleep bruxism has a range of treatment options. There is no specific cure, but research has helped develop several techniques to alleviate the issue over time.

With the most common causes of teeth grinding related to stress and anxiety, reducing both can be key to overcoming this sleep disorder. Here, a range of options include counselling, especially cognitive behaviour therapies, that can help identify and deal with the causes of stress or anxiety you are experiencing. You may find that counselling provided in tandem with other treatments, with mindfulness or meditation classes, also helps to lower anxiety and manage stress.

In addition, developing good sleeping habits can help you overcome sleep bruxism and help with overall sleep quality while avoiding a range of stimulants like caffeine, alcohol and recreational drugs will also benefit this drive to reduce and remove stress and anxiety.

These strategies can help you with the reasons behind teeth grinding over time. But there is also the need to deal with the physical problem itself. Stopping teeth grinding before your teeth become irreparably damaged is crucial to maintaining oral health. You may use a mouthguard or an occlusal splint to protect your teeth at night. These are custom moulded to fit your teeth and gums for the best comfort, although they can take a little getting used to.

If underlying medical conditions contribute to your teeth grinding, treating those issues should also be part of your treatment. If your sleep bruxism has developed far enough to cause jaw fatigue and pain, physiotherapy may also be helpful.

Finally, if you were only diagnosed after causing damage to your teeth, you must also receive dental treatment to repair that damage.

Is teeth grinding at night related to anxiety?

While anxiety is not the only reason you may develop sleep disorders like teeth grinding, it can be a significant cause. Finding the exact reason for something like sleep bruxism or other sleep problems is very difficult, so researchers focus on common issues among sufferers. What they have found is that among people who display sleep bruxism symptoms, stress and anxiety are the two most common issues. As a result, anxiety is a contributing factor to jaw clenching during sleep, although whether it can cause sleep bruxism on its own is still something researchers are unsure of.

This is why various therapies targeted at anxiety are so valuable for treating teeth grinding, but they also provide something else. If you are suffering from stress and anxiety, look out for those early signs of sleep disorders. Sleep bruxism means aching teeth or jaw or, later on, chips or other damage to the teeth. Identifying teeth grinding early can avoid significant damage to your teeth and the expensive repair treatments that will mean.

Conclusion

While not as disruptive to life as some sleep disorders, teeth clenching can cause long-term oral health problems and lead to painful damage to teeth and jaw muscles. By taking early signs, such as aching teeth, seriously, you can spot sleep bruxism early and put treatments in place to help before you damage your teeth.

Featured post image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay