How to Confirm Whether You Grind Your Teeth at Night?

The habit of grinding your teeth generally occurs at nights when you are sleeping. If you are affected by bruxism, which is another name for this condition, you may clench your teeth unconsciously when you are awake or clench and grind them when sleeping.

If you are grinding your teeth when sleeping, the condition is considered as a sleep-related movement disorder by the dentist in Mount Kisco, NY. The dentist will look into other sleep disorders affecting you, like snoring and sleep apnea.

When you grind your teeth when sleeping, you will be unaware of the problem until you develop complications. Therefore you need to know the signs and symptoms of this condition and seek regular dental care from the dentist in Mount Kisco.

The symptoms of bruxism or teeth grinding can be loud to wake your sleeping partner and leave you with flattened, fractured, chipped, or lose teeth. You will experience increased tooth sensitivity with tooth enamel wearing down to expose the deeper layers of the teeth. Pain in the neck, jaw, or face will also begin affecting you.

If you experience any of the symptoms mentioned above, you must see your dentist or a doctor have them assessed and have treatment recommended.

In most cases, teeth grinding does not cause serious complications, but severe conditions of bruxism can lead to damages with your teeth, crowns, restorations, and the jaw. You will suffer from severe jaw pain or facial pain. Disorders with temporomandibular joints may affect you, causing you to hear clicking sounds when you open and close your mouth.

The medical fraternity does not understand what precisely causes bruxism and believes it is a combination of physical, genetic, and psychological factors.

If your grinding is loud to awaken your partner, you will undoubtedly be informed about it and must understand it is time for you to seek treatment from a dentist or doctor for this condition.

Dentists will examine your teeth looking for signs of grinding and clenching before providing you an oral appliance that will keep your teeth apart when sleeping. Your dentist will ask questions about your general dental health, daily routines, medications, and sleeping habits. He or she will evaluate the severity of the condition by looking for dental abnormalities like broken or missing teeth, other damages to your teeth and the underlying bone with the help of x-rays.

If teeth grinding is a severe issue with you, the dentist may need to reshape the chewing surfaces of your teeth or suggest crowns for repairing the damage. However, the best way to confirm whether you are grinding your teeth at night are to listen to what your partner has to say and schedule a consultation with your dentist to correct it.