What is Bruxism (Teeth Grinding)?
Bruxism is a behavior that results from the involuntary movement of the teeth, jaw and joints during sleep and is also seen as a clenching movement.
Bruxism; At the point where today’s world has reached, individuals can be exposed to intense stress, excitement and anxiety while being involved in the flow of life with various pursuits. The individual who feels himself under intense pressure seeks ways to get rid of this mood and his inner world becomes more chaotic.
The subconscious mind of the individual in an effort to overcome the stress factors of bruxism comes into play when the individual is asleep, and begins to exert physiological pressure on the individual; The individual involuntarily clenches his teeth while sleeping. This disease is called bruxism disease, and individuals suffering from this disease are called bruxist patients.
Bruxism and Sleep
Bruxism patients cannot realize that they grind their teeth during sleep for a long time; until you feel tooth, gum, jawbone and joint pain. In general, bruxist patients who apply to our clinic come to us because of their increasing joint pain over time.
However, in the course of time, many destructions can occur in the teeth and joints; The most basic symptom is abrasions that occur on the tooth surfaces and lead to enamel loss. With these abrasions, the surface and root of the teeth weaken; teeth become more prone to staining and more fragile. Rocking and fracture problems may occur in the teeth, as well as micro-scale fractures that prepare the ground for the formation of caries. In addition, sensitivity occurs in the teeth and gums. As a result of the pressure applied to the teeth, melting of the gums and dental bone can be observed.
Bruxism
Bruxism can cause headaches, especially since it will cause pain in the temple area due to the strong pressure applied to the jawbone and joints. Bruxism is a serious obstacle to quality sleep and bruxist patients wake up tired because they are deprived of quality sleep. Therefore, bruxism also triggers sleep problems.
What are Bruxism Treatment Methods?
The first treatment method we clinically recommend to our bruxist patients is the night guard that our patients will place in their mouths before sleeping. With these transparent protective plaques, which are prepared according to the measurements we take from the mouth of our patients in our clinic, we aim to prevent the symptoms that may occur due to teeth grinding and to increase the sleep comfort of our patients, while at the same time maintaining their dental and oral health. Thus, under the strong pressure caused by tooth grinding, fracture occurs and the pressure applied to the joints is eliminated; Therefore, the formation of tooth wear and joint pain is prevented.
Another treatment method that we apply clinically to bruxist patients is the botox procedure, which is an application that you may not even think of. Botox treatment, which we usually associate with facial aesthetic operations, is a treatment method that we apply to individuals with advanced bruxism. Thanks to the botox injection we inject into the massater muscles that perform the chewing function, we eliminate the contractions in the region and teach these muscles not to contract uncontrollably. Thus, these muscles forget their contraction reflexes during sleep and this situation becomes a habit over time. After the procedure, the chewing function is not affected in any way and continues to function in a healthy way.