When Grinding Your Teeth Should Concern You

The thing about grinding your teeth is that it may or may not be a significant concern to your oral health, depending on several factors. For instance, if it doesn’t really occur often, and it doesn’t affect your healthy tooth structure over the years, then your occasional habit of grinding your teeth may be nothing to worry about. However, if you do it often enough, and you fail to stop yourself from grinding your teeth with at-home remedies, then it may be the result of bruxism, and could be the source of several other serious dental health concerns.

You do it often enough to take notice

Bruxism is a chronic teeth-grinding condition, and while there can be many different contributing factors to it, its frequency remains consistent for people who have it. This means you may notice that you grind your teeth often enough that it stands out, rather than at random, far-between occasions. While you can stop yourself from grinding your teeth if you notice during the day, you won’t always be aware of when it’s occurring. Also, many people who develop bruxism will grind their teeth most often at night, making it impossible to consciously put a stop to it.

It starts to make your teeth hurt

Because of the frequency of teeth-grinding that occurs when you have bruxism, it doesn’t take very long for the action to cause noticeable symptoms. One of the earliest of these signs may be growing sensitivity in your teeth. The repeated friction and pressure of grinding against each other can wear down their enamel and tooth structures, making them increasingly more painful the more you grind your teeth. The more severe your tooth sensitivity becomes, the more likely it is that your bruxism condition has caused significant damage to your tooth structure.

You feel the soreness from constant grinding

The discomfort in your teeth is a natural result of the excessive pressure that your bite exhibits when grinding them together. However, the source of this pressure lies in your jaw’s joints and muscles, which are responsible for your bite’s power and movement. The pressure against your teeth is first generated in these joints and muscles, and repeated teeth-grinding can cause them to grow exhausted, become damaged, be forced out of alignment, develop inflammation, or be compromised in other ways. Because of this, untreated bruxism can lead to jaw dysfunction, or TMJ disorder, and a number of other potentially severe symptoms.

Call us if you’re concerned about teeth-grinding

If you do it often enough and can’t seem to stop on your own, then your teeth-grinding may be a problem that could lead to serious oral health concerns. To learn more, call our Cleveland Family Dentistry office in Cleveland, TX, today at (281) 592-1234. We also serve the residents of Kingwood, Conroe, Livingston, and all surrounding communities.