The Long-term Effects from Teeth Grinding

If you’ve noticed that you have been grinding your teeth, it may seem like a habit that’s no big deal. We all deal with little quirks and annoyances and minor aches and pains. But the truth is that long-term teeth grinding can cause myriad health and wellness issues. Nighttime teeth grinding, also known as bruxism, can damage your teeth, cause headaches, and even lead to temporomandibular joint disorder (also referred to as TMJ or TMD).

What could all of that mean exactly for a long-term teeth grinder?

Dental damage

Regular teeth grinding can erode the enamel on your teeth, causing discoloration and leading to weakened teeth. This can make cracks, chips, and lost teeth more likely to occur.

Damage to your teeth can be both painful and time-consuming to repair — not to mention expensive.

Muscle tension

Clenching your teeth while you sleep can have an impact on your muscles long after you wake up in the morning. Consistent clenching and grinding can lead to chronic headaches, facial pain, earaches, neck and shoulder tension, and more.

These issues can have a dramatic impact on your general well-being and your productivity and activity all day long.

Other issues

As a teeth grinder, you can inadvertently cause severe damage to your jaw, including TMJ or locked jaw conditions. Bruxism can also exacerbate your snoring, keep your partner awake, and generally lead to difficulty to sleeping well.

Cumulatively, any degradation of your quality of sleep, increased dental damage, and chronic tension can have a huge impact on your overall quality of life.

Possible solutions

Because one of the most common causes for bruxism is stress and anxiety, promoting relaxation and decreasing stress is one of the best things you can do to counteract its effects. You can also commit to avoiding caffeinated, sugary, and alcoholic drinks and foods — these can also trigger or exacerbate your teeth grinding.

But if you’re a teeth grinder who is looking for a more immediate solution, dental guards can help you stop grinding your teeth right away. A dental guard can prevent your teeth from grinding, keep your jaw relaxed, and allow for a night free of bruxism as soon as you start wearing it.

Ready to find a dental guard for yourself or the teeth grinder in your life? Look for SleepRight’s dental guards at your local CVS, Walgreens, or Walmart!