If you suffer from painful jaw muscles and headaches, the problem might be that you grind your teeth. This is a problem that many Canadians experience.
For a lot of people, stress is one of the biggest causes of teeth grinding. Other underlying issues can be sleep apnea, which is a condition where one stops breathing at night. For other people, it can simply be a habit. Dentists often recommend splits and teeth guards to help patients protect their teeth and to alleviate jaw pain and headaches which results from teeth grinding.
From a dental point of view, signs of teeth grinding include the following:
- Cracks in the teeth,
- The shortening of the teeth,
- Points where the teeth are getting worn down,
- Muscle pain,
- TMJ pain
We also see hypertrophy of the muscle, where the muscles around the jaw get bigger as a result of the grinding. If you wake up with jaw pain, headaches or a feeling of tightness, then you should book a consultation with a dentist.
Some people use injectables such as Botox, but this is a symptomatic treatment of the muscles only. If you are one of the many people who clench their teeth, then you can avoid a long list of symptoms (such as wearing of the teeth, fractures of the teeth, headaches, neck pain, back pain and jaw pains) by getting a tooth guard (night guard) that has been fitted by an experienced dentist.
Most over-the-counter mouth guards are clunky and bulky, making them uncomfortable to wear at night. Dr. Ralph Bastian, a dentist in Peterborough, uses high-quality tooth guards that have a hard surface for durability and a wedge design that relieves symptoms of teeth grinding and teeth clenching. Book an appointment with Dr. Ralph Bastian today.
