How to Stop Teeth Grinding without a Mouthguard?
Teeth grinding, alternatively called bruxism, is a common sleep disorder where people grind their teeth at night and sleep without being aware of it. Teeth grinding is highly harmful to your overall health because it can loosen your teeth and cause enamel erosion.
The damage to your teeth requires extensive restorative dentistry such as dental crowns, bridges, implants, dentures, root canals, et cetera. If you allow the condition to worsen, teeth grinding can change your facial appearance or cause TMJ disorders.
How to Know If Your Teeth Are Grinding?
You might find it challenging to determine whether you grind your teeth when sleeping. However, the noises are loud enough to disturb your bed partner, who may awaken you to make you aware of it.
You can also develop toothaches and other dental problems that you think might need treatment from the emergency dentist in Newmarket. However, if you are diligent with your oral hygiene practices and visit your dentist for six monthly appointments, the dentist can recognize the signs of bruxism to recommend treatments with a mouthguard to prevent your teeth from contacting when you sleep.
Although you might not like wearing a mouthguard when sleeping, the appliance becomes necessary to prevent further damage to your teeth and your overall and financial health. Fortunately, alternative remedies are also available to stop teeth grinding if you prefer.
Best Way to Stop Teeth Grinding
If you want to stop teeth grinding without wearing a mouthguard, you must determine the underlying reasons behind it. If you discuss the problem with the Bradford dental office or a sleep medicine specialist, the professionals can decide whether or not you have a misaligned jaw, anxiety, stress, or depression. Figuring out the cause behind the teeth grinding makes it easier for you to choose a suitable option.
Mouthguards are undoubtedly helpful for teeth grinding. Your dentist can offer you a custom-created night guard fabricated from rubber or plastic after making molds of your teeth and mouth to prevent damage to your teeth.
However, if you are looking for alternative remedies to treat teeth grinding, you can consider the following:
Treatment for Stress and Anxiety
Bruxism is common among children and adults. Stress and anxiety cause people to grind their teeth, according to the American Academy of oral medicine. Research from the Institute of dentistry in Finland reveals that 70 percent of bruxism cases are due to stress. Therefore if the underlying cause of teeth grinding is stress and anxiety, you can seek the help of psychological treatments providing cognitive behavioral therapy. Talk therapy explores your thoughts and feelings to help you build healthier habits. As it has the potential to manage stress by breaking unwanted habits to reduce stress, it, in turn, helps relieve tooth pain that often affects you due to teeth grinding.
It would help if you got a good night’s sleep when trying to ease your stress. To achieve your goal, you can indulge in deep breathing, yoga, massage, listening to your favorite music, reading, and taking a shower before getting into bed.
Breaking Your Teeth Grinding Habit
Habit reversal techniques can also help you overcome your teeth grinding habit. Trained specialists can help you learn habit reversal techniques making it easier for you to overcome the challenge. For example, whenever you notice you are grinding your teeth during the day, you can keep your tongue between your jaws. The technique will relax your jaw to reduce your habit of teeth grinding eventually.
Get Self-Help
Self-help also proves helpful in treating bruxism. You can avoid chewing gum or biting on pens, pencils, nails, or any complex objects besides avoiding foods that require extensive chewing like nuts. Limit or avoid alcohol consumption, tobacco, and caffeine usage before you get into bed.
Receive Dental Treatments
To prevent dental damage, you must visit your dentist for exams every six months. If the bruxism is related to a misaligned, missing, cracked, or a crooked tooth, dentists can help you correct the situation with dental crowns or overlays. Dental treatments help by reshaping the chewing surfaces of your teeth to stop teeth grinding.
Bruxism is a common issue among children and adults, causing problems like headaches, jaw pain, and tooth wear and tear. If you experience similar symptoms, do not hesitate to seek help from Holland River Dental for relief from teeth grinding.