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Medical Forum / General / Dentistry / February 2007Grinding teeth?
My dentist seems to think I am grinding my teeth at night. I have never noticed myself doing this, but I don't think I do. I don't do it during the day... The dentist didn't seem to be sure that I was, only speculating. Is there any way to know for sure if I do or not? I resisted the suggestion to wear a night guard because I once had a thing made for my mouth, to wear at night, for whitening my teeth, and I found it very hard to sleep with it, even after trying it for a couple weeks. In the end, I decided to discontinue it anyway due to the fact that as I increased the % of active ingredient in the gel per instructions, it hurt my teeth like hell! My teeth ended up hurting like hell for several days after I wore the gel one night with the increased solution, so at that point I just stopped using it. Anyway, as far as grinding goes, my main question is, how do I know if Im grinding or not? And is there any way to deal with it other than to wear something in my mouth at night? > My dentist seems to think I am grinding my teeth at night. > I have never noticed myself doing this, but I don't think I do. I [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > And is there any way to deal with it other than to wear something in > my mouth at night? Unless you're under 30, it should be pretty obvious to the dentist examining you if you have been grinding for a significant period of time. Steve  SignatureMark & Steven Bornfeld DDS http://www.dentaltwins.com Brooklyn, NY 718-258-5001 When you eat, your teeth barely touch each other. Normal mastication has the teeth cutting/mashing through the food and the split second that teeth touch, the jaw opens and the process starts anew. You don't cut/mash though the food and then continue grinding the teeth against each other. Slow down and pay attention sometime while your eating (though thinking about it while you are chewing may alter your habits slightly). Another thing to consider is that our modern diet is not very abrasive to our teeth. Food is cleaner and more refined than in ancient times. We cook almost everything. So.....if chewing is not creating a lot of tooth wear, yet you still have flat spots on your teeth and sharp jagged edges where they fit together, I wonder how that happened. The teeth didn't get that way by themselves. That's it! The teeth are coming in contact with one another without food in your mouth! Farmers, truck drivers, heavy equipment operators, construction workers, and assembly line workers quite often have lots of tooth wear. The physical demands of their jobs in addition to noise and vibrations lead to having the jaw 'set' and the teeth wearing on each other. Driving in city traffic, mowing the yard, vacuuming, washing the car, moving furniture, even watching an exciting game on television can also lead to a little clenching. Now take the stresses of everyday life and at different stages of sleep imagine clenching with 10 or more times the force than you would ever do while awake, and it's easy to see where teeth can be damaged. I do not know the actual percentage of the population who do significant damage to their teeth with nocturnal clenching/grinding, but it is extremely common by what I see in my practice. You already know what my preferred method of treatment is. :-) D > My dentist seems to think I am grinding my teeth at night. > I have never noticed myself doing this, but I don't think I do. I [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > And is there any way to deal with it other than to wear something in > my mouth at night? The point one should not miss is this: [snipped] > You already know what my preferred method of treatment is. > > :-) > D Hi Dartos, How far "we" have come ... > You already know what my preferred method of treatment is.) Talk about a win-win situation ... who'd a thunk-it "back then"? ;-) Webby P.S. I prepared your delicious chili recipe the other day ... and it was a *big hit*! All enjoyed!! Thanks for sharing... :-) > > My dentist seems to think I am grinding my teeth at night. > > I have never noticed myself doing this, but I don't think I do. I [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > And is there any way to deal with it other than to wear something in > > my mouth at night? A lot can happen in 10-12 years. :-) I need to make some chili myself! It'll have to wait til next week though. Going to Minneapolis to watch Ryan play baseball (college game in the Metrodome) this week end. Best wishes, D >>You already know what my preferred method of treatment is.) > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > P.S. I prepared your delicious chili recipe the other day ... and it > was a *big hit*! All enjoyed!! Thanks for sharing... :-) > Anyway, as far as grinding goes, my main question is, how do I know if > Im grinding or not? > And is there any way to deal with it other than to wear something in > my mouth at night? Your wife can tell you if you grind your teeth at night. My wife told me. I grind my teeth, and have a nightguard, and only had problems with it for the first couple of weeks. Since then I feel funny if I sleep without it. Grind? Probably. Clench? No. Not everyone makes noise and not everyone wakes up because of it. I see lots of patients who are destroying their teeth and have no idea that they are doing it to themselves while they sleep. D >>Anyway, as far as grinding goes, my main question is, how do I know if >>Im grinding or not? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > I grind my teeth, and have a nightguard, and only had problems with it for > the first couple of weeks. Since then I feel funny if I sleep without it. >> Anyway, as far as grinding goes, my main question is, how do I know if >> Im grinding or not? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >I grind my teeth, and have a nightguard, and only had problems with it for >the first couple of weeks. Since then I feel funny if I sleep without it. Thanks for the feedback. If it's not TOO much money, I'm willing to try wearing a device at night. However I am skeptical that I'll be able to handle it, as I am a VERY light sleeper. How much do these devices cost? I don't remember how much it cost, but I think it was around $200, but I don't remember too well. >>> Anyway, as far as grinding goes, my main question is, how do I know if >>> Im grinding or not? [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > How much do these devices cost? >I don't remember how much it cost, but I think it was around $200, but I >don't remember too well. That's a lot to pay for something I MIGHT not be able to wear (if I can't sleep well with it). > >I don't remember how much it cost, but I think it was around $200, but I > >don't remember too well. > > > That's a lot to pay for something I MIGHT not be able to wear (if I > can't sleep well with it). Fortunately, you can't just go to Nordstrom's and buy one. Webby > That's a lot to pay for something I MIGHT not be able to wear (if I > can't sleep well with it). I don't think I've had anyone who *couldn't* sleep with an NTI. I've had a few who really didn't try. If they are made correctly, there isn't much to get used to. JME, D >> That's a lot to pay for something I MIGHT not be able to wear (if I >> can't sleep well with it). [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >JME, >D Okay, I'll ask my dentist about it and see how much they want for it. I have flat spots on every tooth, does it mean I grind my teeth? Are these flat spots come from chewing or eating food ? > I have flat spots on every tooth, does it mean I grind my teeth? Are > these flat spots come from chewing or eating food ? Chewing food does not entail forcing the teeth to touch and then grinding them together. As soon as your teeth touch, the mouth opens and moves the food around for another cycle. 'Flat spots' on teeth mean that the teeth are in direct contact with one another and then moved in a grinding fashion. Truck drivers, assembly line workers, heavy equipment operators, farmers, etc. are around dirt, noise, vibration, and stress while working and often clench their teeth on the job to do damage. However, many of them, and many others, clench and/or grind their teeth at different stages of sleep. The bigger the wear facet and the younger the patient, the more serious the problem. D >I have flat spots on every tooth, does it mean I grind my teeth? Are >these flat spots come from chewing or eating food ? Yep. Nope. > That's a lot to pay for something I MIGHT not be able to wear (if I > can't sleep well with it). Try to use a mouthpiece/tooth protecter for martial arts or hockey. Find one that fits well. It costs 2-3$, It will work temporarily and allow you to get used to it. |
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