It is the condition of clenching or grinding our teeth, which is usually seen at night during sleep and sometimes without awareness during of the day. Although it has not been fully proven, it is known that it usually occurs as a result of the stress we experience in our daily lives.
Clenching in children may be slightly different. Sometimes due to parasites, sometimes during teething periods, there may be physiological teeth clenching. It is more likely to disappear with age. Therefore, clenching may cause serious problems in adults. During eating, the food acts as a buffer between the teeth, in addition, the bite force is controlled. However, the nighttime clenching and grinding is uncontrollable, very high pressure, and there is no buffer between the teeth like food.
This causes tooth abrasion and pain. Just as our muscles grow and become stronger when we do heavy sports, over time, our jaw muscles get stronger with clenching and grinding, and our intensity increases. When the jaw muscles enlarge, an enlarged square face form is formed. This is a situation that is not preferred especially for women. If not treated, deformations will begin in our joints over time. Just as our teeth are damaged by this, if we have treatments such as laminate, crown, bonding, they also may be damaged due to bruxism and fractures may occur.
It can cause widespread pain such as head, ear, face and neck pain, not only with teeth and joints. A possible root cause of earaches may be teeth clenching or grinding. Often those who grind their teeth are not aware of this. People sleeping next to you can sometimes hear the squeaking sound very severely, but if there is clenching, it will not be heard because there will be no sound, but in both cases, teeth, joints and surrounding tissues are damaged. Traces and symptoms caused by teeth clenching and grinding can be easily seen by a dentist. A treatment may not be needed when there is mild clenching.
However, severe cases require treatment. Your dentist cannot prevent you from clenching your teeth, but he can apply treatments that can minimize the damage you will see. The reason for clenching may be psychological issues. You may need support from your psychologist to understand and eliminate the root cause of clenching. Bruxism puts extra strain on the joints. In this case, it will be useful to avoid some behaviors that will tire our joints.
During this period, chewing gum, eating hard foods, and even talking too much in some professions (such as a call center) can increase our pain. Just as rest is recommended when we are sick, we should rest our jaw muscles and joints as much as possible in these cases.
One of the treatment methods that can be applied for bruxism patients is the use of dental plaque at night. The use of plaque minimizes the damage to your teeth by clenching and grinding. Another treatment method is botox application to the jaw muscles. In this way, the muscle strength, which is over-strengthened by the effect of tightening, is reduced for a certain amount of time and the damage to the teeth and joints is minimized.
This treatment will not only reduce the intensity of tightening, but also contribute to the reduction and return of the square form on your face due to muscle growth.
