One of the common problems is overstrain of the masticatory muscles, which manifests itself in the form of increased clenching of teeth and bruxism (grinding teeth in sleep). Hypertonicity of muscles occurs in children and adults. And among the reasons are stressful situations, overwork, spinal pathologies and dental factors such as:
- malocclusion;
- absence of some teeth;
- poor quality fillings;
- Difficulty getting used to braces or dentures.
In addition, you need to take into account the presence of bad habits. Smoking, alcohol, and caffeine abuse stimulate the cerebral cortex and cause insomnia. In turn, sleep disturbances increase the risk of developing nighttime jaw spasms.
Bruxism - what is it
Uncontrolled grinding of teeth, resulting from spasms of the masticatory muscles. If you come across texts about the Carolini phenomenon, odonterism, “teeth grinding disease” - they are all about bruxism, and the names listed are synonyms of bruxism. Translated from ancient Greek, bruxism means grinding.
Dentists distinguish two types of this disease.
- Directly grinding, that is, the friction of the teeth against each other.
- Clanching is a static clenching of teeth that occurs without friction.
Bruxism is often chronic, causing discomfort to a person for many years. If left untreated, it results in complications: problems with the temporomandibular joint, chronic stress, and abrasion of tooth enamel.
It is necessary to distinguish between childhood and adult bruxism - they have many significant differences. Here we will look in detail at the course of this disease in adults. There is a separate article on childhood “teeth grinding disease”.
Night grinding of teeth.
A person does not realize that he grinds his teeth when he sleeps. Doesn't wake up from gritting her teeth and may not be aware of the problem at all. Only his relatives can talk about it.
Daytime teeth grinding.
This type of bruxism is already recognized by a person. But clenching of teeth occurs involuntarily and cannot be controlled. During daytime bruxism, a person feels discomfort, which causes periodic strong tension in the facial muscles.
Age characteristics
Before you go for a consultation with a pediatrician, parents should know that teeth grinding at night, heard from the children's room, is often due to age-related characteristics.
7-8 months
The main reason: an excess of emotional impressions during the day, as an option - stress due to weaning;
Accompanying symptoms: anxiety, crying, whims, refusal to eat, disruption of feeding and sleep patterns.
What to do: provide the baby with the most comfortable environment possible, postpone weaning to another period, less noise during the day, soothing baths before bed.
9-10 months
Main reason: teething.
Accompanying symptoms: swelling of the gums, fever, crying, excessive salivation, the desire to put various objects into the mouth.
What to do: give painkillers orally (Vibrukol, Panadol, Nurofen), lubricate the gums with cooling gels (Cholisal, Kamistad, Dentinox), use anti-inflammatory toothpastes for children (Weleda, SPLAT Junior, SPLAT Magic Foam).
11-12 months
The main reason: improper transition to regular food for adults, as a result of which various vitamin deficiencies and deficiencies of micro- and macroelements are observed.
Accompanying symptoms: developmental abnormalities, lethargy, sleep disturbances, pale skin, loss of appetite, convulsions.
What to do: seek help from a pediatrician as soon as possible.
1-2 years
The main reason: at 1 year of age, nasal breathing disorders and various inflammatory processes in the nasopharynx are most often diagnosed.
Accompanying symptoms: adenoiditis, sinusitis, difficulty breathing, cough, rhinitis.
What to do: promptly treat any colds and infectious diseases, engage in ongoing prevention, seek help from an otolaryngologist.
If parents do not take care of the fact that the baby grinds his teeth more and more often, this can lead to the development of chronic diseases of the nasopharynx and improper formation of the jaw.
3-4 years
The main reason: the age crisis of 3 years, accompanied by adaptation to kindergarten.
Accompanying symptoms: whims, hysterics, disobedience, refusal of the usual daily routine.
What to do: be patient, help in adapting to kindergarten, wait out the age crisis.
5-6 years
The main reason: improperly formed bite, neuralgic problems.
Accompanying symptoms: tension and spasms of the facial muscles, incorrect placement of teeth, complaints of pain of various types. Most often, at this age, children grind their teeth during the day.
What to do: correct the bite (wear removable structures: mouth guards, trainers, slings, plates), engage in myotherapy and orthodontic treatment, and also seek advice from a neurologist.
7-8 years
The main reason: the age crisis of 7 years, accompanied by adaptation to school.
Accompanying symptoms: self-willed, tries to imitate adults, demands independence.
What to do: be patient, help in adapting to school, wait out the age crisis.
If a child grinds his teeth due to age-related characteristics, with the correct attitude of the parents and timely measures taken, this will quickly go away.
The most common consequences of teeth grinding in adults
- Increased tooth wear. Constant friction causes teeth to lose their natural height. In general, this is a natural process: with age, all people's teeth become a little shorter. But with bruxism this happens much faster. Plus, constant grinding of teeth results in frequent loss of fillings, the appearance of chips and roughness.
- Pain in the mouth. It appears due to the fact that during bruxism a person often “bites” his cheeks. Wounds and abrasions appear that do not have time to heal.
- Headache, nagging pain in the neck, ringing in the ears, dizziness. If the cause of these neurological symptoms cannot be substantiated by other diseases, then there is a high probability that these are the consequences of constant teeth grinding.
- Drowsiness, irritability, general “weakness,” fatigue. All this can appear if a person suffering from bruxism has trouble sleeping at night due to constant clenching of teeth during sleep.
A person himself can rarely understand that the cause of his health problems is bruxism. The diagnosis can be made only with the help of a special study - electromyography.
Treatment and prevention
Dentistry suggests constantly wearing a mouthguard - a custom-made rubber structure that protects teeth from abrasion and loosening.
magnesium, calcium and B vitamins, light sedative and hypnotic infusions in order to calm the nervous system Before going to bed, you can apply a warm, damp towel to relieve tension, and undergo massage sessions of the chin and jaw system.
You should avoid eating foods that stimulate the nervous system (chocolate, coffee, strong tea, energy drinks, chewing gum).
Psychological and physiological ways to overcome bruxism
- You can learn autogenic training methods, breathing exercises, meditation, relaxation and stress relief.
- You should make a list of your favorite calming activities that allow you to relax and switch your attention from worries (to form a so-called “ bank of positive emotions ”). This could be long walks in nature, playing a suitable sport (swimming, running, cycling, yoga or qigong), taking warm relaxing baths with herbal decoctions, listening to music, chatting in a pleasant company, watching interesting films or programs, reading books, traveling to new places.
- A visit to a psychologist or psychotherapist will help the patient speak out, understand himself, internal conflicts, frequent mood swings, overcome depression and find spiritual harmony and balance.
Patients with bruxism are often torn between reason and emotions, between “want” and “should.” As a result, a person seems to eat and strive to destroy himself, grinding his teeth in his sleep when control over the psyche is weakened. Bruxism manifests itself as a destructive form of auto-aggression (aggression that has not found a way out). And the task of the psychologist is to recognize and bring out, work through and make conscious to the patient these suppressed elements of his psyche (including through the use of hypnotic techniques). Find acceptable options for expressing suppressed emotions, allow the patient to realize himself, turning aggression into a constructive direction.
Also, with the help of a psychologist, you can learn useful relaxation skills, for example, according to Jacobson . This technique consists of alternately working with different parts of the body - tensing and then relaxing the muscles, including the maxillofacial muscles.
In case of an excess of sexual energy, it will be useful to think about having a partner and regularly realizing your sexual potential, which in itself brings positive emotions and relaxes.
Why do adults clench their teeth?
There is no clear answer. However, research and observations have allowed doctors to identify several hypotheses for the occurrence of bruxism.
- Bad habits
Sometimes, in order to concentrate, some people chew on a pen or toothpick. Over time, this action can become a conditioned reflex. And when a person needs to concentrate, he involuntarily clenches an imaginary toothpick between his teeth. This may explain the occurrence of teeth grinding during sleep. - Nervous stress
Often adults clench their teeth when they want to hold back in a stressful situation. If this happens for a long time, the body may develop an uncontrollable habit: the slightest overexertion - we clench our teeth tightly. This is another version of the appearance of bruxism at night in adults. - Neurological diseases
Also, people suffering from a number of neurological diseases often grind their teeth at night: epilepsy, tremor, enuresis, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease - all of them are characterized by such a symptom as bruxism. - Insomnia
If a person does not sleep normally for a long time, often wakes up at night, is more often in a state of shallow rather than deep sleep, he clenches his jaw uncontrollably because he begins to get nervous because he cannot get a good night's sleep. - Pathologies of the dental system
Bruxism can be caused by a pathological bite: it causes an uneven distribution of the load on the teeth. For treatment in this case, read the article “Bite correction in adults.” Also, the cause of clenching teeth at night may be their overcrowding. With this disorder, the teeth do not close completely. In addition, dentists studying the phenomenon of bruxism note that its cause may be the desire of people to “shorten” fillings or dentures that were installed incorrectly: a person tries to “erase” them and often begins to close their jaws tightly and move them relative to each other . Over time, this can become an unconscious habit.
For quite a long time, bruxism was considered a symptom of helminthic infestation. Scientific research has not confirmed this theory.
A problem that is faced, but few people are working on solving it.
The presence of teeth grinding in an adult has several theories. Psychology determines the manifestation of the disease, focusing on the emotional state of a person. Factors preceding grinding are as follows:
- stressful moments;
- social instability;
- everyday problems, instability;
- affective state.
The neurogenic theory believes that bruxism manifests itself in adults as a result of diseases of the body’s nervous system. Disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system lead to disorders of the motor system and the appearance of spasms. Grinding provokes snoring, insomnia, enuresis and other unpleasant symptoms that were not previously observed. Dentists diagnose the disease due to improper structure of the jaw and incisors. The definition includes:
- Malocclusion.
- Defects in tooth growth.
- Their close placement.
- Incomplete dentition.
- Poorly installed dentures.
- An incorrectly performed filling results in overbite.
Psychosomatic explanation of bruxism
Now one of the most common versions of teeth grinding is psychosomatic. That is, bruxism is the result of hidden experiences, long-suppressed emotions, complexes, and fears. All this can cause spasm of the chewing muscles. There is also an assumption that bruxism accompanies a number of mental disorders. Thus, scientists from Germany studying “adult” bruxism conducted a study, the results of which indicate that teeth clenching is directly related to chronic depression.
ATTENTION!
Confusion of the soul is the main cause of teeth grinding. This was the opinion of Hippocrates. And he was probably not far from the truth.
Development of the disease
Experts name several reasons that may be the basis for the occurrence of the disease. If a person has a habit of chewing hard objects: pens, pencils, then this is one of the first signs indicating bruxism. The reason for the occurrence of such a manifestation is most often stress, increased brain activity, and alcohol intake.
If the symptom is one-time, then prevention should be carried out. To avoid worsening the disease: take a bath, rest. If symptoms remain after returning to a calm state, this may indicate a worsening of bruxism.
What procedures can a dentist not perform for bruxism?
Chronic teeth grinding often makes it impossible to carry out dental treatment: for some types it is an absolute contraindication, for others it is a relative one. It all depends on the severity of bruxism.
Treatment with braces.
For bruxism, dentists prefer to replace it with mouth guards. They are softer than braces and do not injure the mucous membranes, gums and tongue, which often happens if a person regularly clenches his jaw tightly. In addition, braces often break due to bruxism.
Installation of ceramic crowns
undesirable for “teeth grinding disease.” Despite the fact that modern dental ceramics are quite durable, they still cannot withstand the increased pressure that occurs during bruxism, and the ceramic crown is destroyed.
For implantation
Bruxism is considered an absolute contraindication, since the risk is too high that due to constant clenching of the teeth, the implant will become loose and fall out.
Restoration with lumineers, veneers, composites
It is ineffective for bruxism. It can be done, but it will not be possible to avoid mechanical damage to mini-prostheses. This has been recorded over many years of observations.
Reason #1: Stress
Scientists from the University of Dusseldorf conducted a study involving 48 subjects and proved that the main cause of bruxism is stress. In sleep, the body rests, cleanses itself and gets rid of unnecessary information, and clenching the jaw, a person continues to experience the troubles of the day at night. Constant nervous tension is a sure way to the development of this disorder.
INTERESTING FACTS!
- Representatives of the following professions are most susceptible to stress: surgeon, photojournalist, passenger plane pilot, realtor, manager.
- Dark chocolate, laughter and... good deeds help reduce stress hormones. The famous scientist Allan Lukes claims that after sincere, selfless help to strangers, a person experiences happiness and satisfaction. The body produces endorphins, it relaxes and gets rid of stress. This is also confirmed by a 30-year study that showed that women who cared about other people, and not just their family, were 2 times less likely to get sick and enjoyed life more.
USEFUL INFORMATION: Why do adults grind their teeth in their sleep: reasons
Should adults treat bruxism?
Teeth grinding is an unpleasant disease, but its severity for the patient, of course, cannot be compared with, say, a complete absence of teeth and caries. However, the long-term consequences of bruxism are still unpleasant. It may interfere with prosthetics, implantation, and orthodontic treatment with braces, if necessary. In most cases, you will simply need to get rid of uncontrollable teeth clenching, but this will require additional time and money. But, in general, we are lucky that we do not live in the Middle Ages - then the Inquisition interpreted gnashing of teeth as a symbol of connection with the devil and executed people. Today we have all the means to get rid of this disease. The main thing is not to delay your visit to the dentist and start treatment on time.
Complications of the disease
An advanced disease develops into pathology. The enamel is characterized by abrasion, the appearance of chips and cracks, and acute sensitivity. Trauma to the gums contributes to loosening of teeth and their loss. Patients with dentures notice the curvature of the structures and replace them. Regular gum injuries can lead to:
- gwynita;
- periodontitis;
- stomatitis.
Difficulties that arise during dental treatment arise with the manifestations of bruxism in adults. By treating the disease in a timely manner, these problems can be avoided.
Tips for parents
To have a restful sleep, instead of watching cartoons, outdoor activities and computer games, take a walk down the street in the evening. Before going to bed, a child can take a relaxing bath and listen to a good fairy tale that does not contain scary characters.
Contact your dentist even if there are no problems with your teeth, but bruxism is present. He will select a special mouth guard for night wear. It does not eliminate grinding, but protects teeth from abrasion.
Half of children grind their teeth, so there is no need to panic at a single grinding sound. You should be concerned about frequent squeaks.
To prevent a child from grinding his teeth, the cause must be found and eradicated. Make sure he avoids stressful situations, eats right and doesn't overwork himself.
