How To Stop From Grinding Teeth In Sleep

People who grind their teeth while sleeping may suffer from TMJ or Bruxism.  A mouth guard is usually the best form of treatment, however dentist now have special retainers that are made for these purposes.  You will need to ask your dentist what is the best for you, as cheap mouth guards may not be the best option.

While sleeping you can wear your retainer or mouthguard to minimize the grinding of your teeth.  Teeth grinding can be extremely painful the day after and actually very bad for your teeth.


Treatment For Bruxism

There is no accepted cure for bruxism.[1] Ongoing management of bruxism is based on minimizing the abrasion of tooth surfaces by the wearing of an acrylic dental guard, designed to the shape of an individual's upper or lower teeth from a bite mould. The traditional way of obtaining a mouth guard requires visits to a dentist for measuring and fitting. However, dental mouth guards are also available directly from the lab (e.g., Total Teeth Care, Nightguard Lab). The consumer places an order and the lab sends a kit. Using the kit, the consumer takes bite moulds of his or her teeth, and then returns the kit to the lab where the moulds are used to construct the guard. This method is more economical (ranging between US$100 and $200) than going to the dentist (where the cost could be $800 to $1000). Another alternative is to purchase over-the-counter dental guards from a local drug store. These usually range from $20 to $50, but they are not custom fitted and so may not fit all mouth sizes. The main goal of treatment is to prevent further tooth damage, and requires that the night guard be worn as long as the person has teeth.

There is limited evidence that suggests taking certain combinations of vitamin supplements may alleviate bruxism.[5]

One way of stopping the damage and severity of grinding and clenching is through the making of a repositioning splint. A repositioning splint looks like the traditional night guard, but has certain functions built into it. This device supposedly not only protects the teeth when grinding, but also reduces the urge to grind. The efficacy of such devices is unproven.

Several biofeedback devices are available that, as of 2007, are as yet unproven in effectiveness. While there is anecdotal evidence that they are of some use, there are detractors among bruxism professionals.[2] One of these devices is the Oralsensor, which comprises a pneumatic pouch embedded in a soft polymer plate that fits over upper or lower teeth. When the teeth come together—to a threshold pressure set each night by the user—an alarm is sounded in an earpiece worn by the user. Another biofeedback device, GrindAlert, is a battery-powered device that sounds a tone when it senses EMG (electromyographic) muscle activity in the temporalis muscles of the forehead. In 2005, a new type of occlusive device was patented that produces a movement incompatible with teeth clenching. When nighttime bruxism occurs, people breathe through the nose. The new device forces people to breathe through the mouth; thus, by forcing the opening of the mouth, the device is claimed to stop clenching. The occlusive device has an electromyogram system that monitors the electric activity of the jaw muscle via wireless electrodes. These electrodes transfer jaw-muscle activity by radio frequency to an external monitoring system. Once the signal has been interpreted by the monitoring system, if a patient clenches (i.e., if the signal transmitted by the electrodes is higher than a given threshold), the monitoring unit sends a radio frequency signal to a transceiver integrated in a mechanical actuator. The mechanical actuator has two occlusive flaps that block the nostrils, forcing breathing to occur through the mouth. Once the patient stops clenching (i.e., once the signal is under the threshold), the flaps open, allowing breathing through the nose again. The occlusive device does not wake up people since it blocks nostrils slowly, and it never closes them completely to avoid sleep disruption.[6]


Source: Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia