The daily grind

Experts say teeth grinding can happen consciously, could be potentially serious

By: Frank Pellegrino

Posted: 5/4/09

While sitting in class, sophomore Jenna Campbell noticed a clacking sound. She said after a while of listening, she discovered the sound came from her professor.

Campbell said she had a professor who bruxed his teeth a lot.

"It was kind of distracting at times when he was giving lectures," Campbell said. "It was subtle, but noticeable and frequent. He would do it at least like once a minute."

Dr. Nathan Fleming, a doctor of dental sciences at Eau Claire Family Dental, 1018 Regis Ct., said he has seen a wide variety of bruxism cases.

"It's probably been diagnosed for quite a while," Fleming said. "But as far as being treated, it is happening more and more now on a consistent basis."

Fleming said there are many warning signs that are associated with bruxism. The most common symptoms are a sore jaw, teeth becoming temperature sensitive and flattening of teeth, he said.

"It can wear your teeth down so you are exposing a lower level that has nerves in them," Fleming said. "When the nerves are exposed they become very sensitive to hot and cold, sweets and other things like that."

Another symptom is causing damage to the TMJ joint, which can be potentially dangerous, Fleming said. Someone suffering from bruxism can wear the joint down to the point where he or she actually starts to feel significant pain there, he said.

Other things such as an earache or headache, chronic facial pain or chewed tissue on the inside of the cheek are all common side effects as well, according to the Mayo Clinic Web site.

Fleming and the Mayo Clinic site both stated that one of the easiest ways to tell is by hearing it.

However, Fleming added that this can be difficult because so many people do it self-consciously while sleeping at night, and they have no idea what's happening until it is too late. Moreover, he said it is typically the person's partner who notices first because it can be loud.

"I hope it doesn't happen to me," Campbell said. "I guess there is really no way of knowing for sure, and it's an uncomfortable situation."

Campbell thought this could be incredibly annoying for the person lying on the other side of the bed.

"It's probably a lot along the lines of sleeping with someone who heavily snores," Campbell said. "It would be frustrating."

Doctors don't completely understand what causes bruxism, according to the Mayo Clinic site. However, the most common factors thought to promote bruxing are psychological things such as anxiety, suppressed anger and a competitive personality type.

"A lot of people who tend to have more stress in their lives tend to do it more," Fleming said.

Often bruxism goes unnoticed, so the Mayo Clinic site suggests that if you see any warning signs, you seek a dentist soon. Specifically if you have worn teeth or pain in your jaw, face or ear, they recommend you see your doctor or dentist.

Fleming said the only way you can really tell is by talking to a professional.

"The biggest diagnosis will be by the dentist being able to see wear patterns on the teeth," Fleming said. "This is what for sure can tell us people are bruxing."

There is little that can be done to repair damage that has already happened, Fleming said. But there are a few things that can be done to help prevent future harm from happening, the first of which is fitting a 'splint,' or mouth guard, that the affected person can wear while sleeping.

"What that's going to do is prevent excessive wear from happening on the teeth," Fleming said. "It kind of acts like a shock-absorber to give that joint and those teeth a little bit of break from bruxing."

According to the Mayo Clinic site, that because stress is such a factor, stress management is also something that is used to help prevent the damage of bruxing. Many dentists believe that seeking professional counseling or practicing relaxation techniques can really help, according to the site.

In extreme cases, dentists sometimes have to do a full-mouth reconstruction, Fleming said. This is when a crown is placed on each tooth to get them back to where they originally were.

"That is pretty much last case scenario in treating things though," Fleming said. "Otherwise, the next best thing would be to slow the process from happening before things get out of hand."