Nocturnal teeth grinding
definition
One speaks of grinding one's teeth or clenching one's teeth (Bruxism) when the teeth are exposed to excessive and abnormal muscle loads.
This can lead, for example, to signs of wear and tear on the tooth or to muscle problems in the masticatory muscles. It can also promote inflammation of the tooth supporting structure.
Nocturnal teeth grinding is a widespread "disease".
Usually it is triggered psychologically, which means that teeth grinding is mostly one Means of the body is Coping with stress.
In rare cases, misaligned teeth can be the cause. The grinding of teeth at night is often only noticed by those affected after a long time. Often the partner notices the nocturnal grinding of teeth through the noises that arise.
Symptoms of the crunch
In general, signs of wear and tear on the natural teeth appear after prolonged teeth grinding.
This first affects the canines, the canine tips of which are lost or a sloping cutting edge forms.
After that, the front and molars are affected. It can be especially with night-time teeth grinding In the morning pain when clenching or jaw joint pain (pain in and around the ear). These pains often get better during the day.
There can also be tension or cramps in the masticatory muscles often mistakenly interpreted as a toothache become. In the course of such muscle tension, problems with opening the mouth can occur or further tension in the skeletal muscles (neck) can result.
Causes of nighttime teeth grinding
Nocturnal teeth grinding has almost every third German regularly. The main reasons for this are the stressful situation and the associated psychological suffering. In life situations that gnaw at the psyche, the body tries to compensate for what is happening.
This happens at night while the body shuts down and recovers. It is possible that patients only develop the crunch if exam stress or family problems arise, with mental satisfaction, however, no complaints suffer.
Symptoms of crunching can also occur in the alcoholic state or under the influence of drugs, when sleep is disturbed.
Often the crunching can also occur after treatment with dentures.
If crowns or fillings are too high or restrict the mobility of the lower jaw, they can lead to teeth grinding because the Body tries to achieve an even bite position and rub down the pre-contact of the tooth that is too high.
In the case of malformations of the dentition, such as crooked teeth, grinding is also triggered at night.
In children with deciduous or mixed dentition, grinding is normal, because the optimal bite results from the crunch. This situation is the only case in which the crunch is not abnormal.
Read more on the topic: Causes of grinding teeth
Crunch in children
In children and especially in small children in the deciduous dentition, teeth grind during the night and also during the day in front. This is primarily due to the fact that the teeth of the deciduous or permanent set of teeth break through and the child's optimal bite only develops over time.
The period in which the deciduous dentition erupts is between 6 months and almost 2 years, the permanent teeth appear between the ages of 6-8 and 9-12. In these phases of tooth change, grinding at night is physiological, i.e. completely normal and harmless, so that the optimal bite occurs.
Information on Change of teeth in the child you'll find here.
The teeth bump against each other for the first time and line up so that they are functionally best. This happens primarily through grinding, as this creates an even contact between all teeth and their opposing teeth, the bite.
The child tends to grind until uniform, even contact is formed, which is the best functional result. It is noticeable that the phases in which the child crunches often last a few months and end immediately, provided the optimal bite position is reached. This crunching usually does not cause any discomfort to the children, which differs from the symptoms of adults. In most cases, nothing is done therapeutically with children, as the crunch occurs by itself.
If the child's dentition development is disturbed and the crunch is caused by a bad bite, orthodontic therapy with loose or fixed braces is initiated.
Please also read: Orthodontics
What are the consequences of the crunch?
The consequences of the nocturnal crunch can have serious consequences in the course of the disease, but in children the crunch is usually harmless. When the children grind, the bite forms in the eruption or change of teeth. If the optimal bite position is reached, the grinding stops immediately and no negative consequences are to be expected.
If, however, the development of teeth is disturbed and the grinding is pathological, as is the case with most adults, teeth, the supporting structures and the temporomandibular joint can be damaged by the excessive strain. The teeth rub off and the bite is lowered as a result, which means that the temporomandibular joint has to adapt to a new bite position, but it only manages to do so to a certain extent.
The affected patient gets up in the morning with severe pain in the jaw and jaw joint and the pain can also radiate, causing migraines and headaches. The masticatory muscles are also tense, which is too Jaw clamp or Lock jaw can lead. The patient has problems opening the mouth or closing the jaw and any attempt leads to severe pain.
Without treatment, the crunching can lead to wear and tear of the temporomandibular joint, osteoarthritis of the TMJ, which inevitably leads to severe functional impairment of the chewing apparatus. Any consequences of the grinding in relation to the temporomandibular joint are covered by the term due to their complexity "Cranio-Mandibular Dysfunction" subordinate, which affect one in three in today's population.
Read on here too: Pain in the temporomandibular joint
diagnosis
The diagnosis is usually made by the dentist.
In most cases, it is sufficient to check the cutting edges to see whether or not something is being crunched.
The diagnosis can usually be made in conjunction with the patient consultation.
In exceptional cases, a myogram of the masticatory muscles can be taken at night. Here is the electrical muscle activity recorded.
therapy
Dentistically, teeth grinding is treated with splint therapy at night.
For this purpose, a plastic splint is used over the upper or lower teeth at night. Instead of the natural teeth, the plastic is worn out. Especially when grinding your teeth at night, you shouldn't watch TV or play a PC right before going to bed, but rather relax and just do relaxing things. However, this is only symptomatic therapy.
Read more on the topic: Occlusion splint
Definitive therapy is only possible by turning off teeth grinding as a way of coping with stress. For this, the daily stress must be reduced or otherwise reduced (sport / relaxation exercises).
As a rule, someone not only grinds at night, but also grinds or clenched their teeth during the day. This has to be resolved again and again by consciously relaxing the masticatory muscles, so that this can also enter the subconscious in the long term.
A causal therapy therefore requires the active cooperation of the patient and, in contrast to symptomatic therapy, is rather long-term.
The grinding splint
Splint therapy is that Therapy of choice, which is initiated by crunching during the night. The splint, which is also known as a bite splint or grinding splint, consists of plastic. It is individually manufactured to fit the patient in a dental laboratory by drawing models through impressions of the upper and lower jaw and then making the splint to match. It does not matter whether the splint is made for the upper or lower jaw and whether it is made of a plastic that remains soft, a hard or a combined plastic.
The grinding splint is then fitted and ground in so that all teeth come up evenly. Now the patient can use the splint every evening for the night and wear it while sleeping so that the teeth no longer come together directly through the splint and do not rub off.
The bite splint acts as a barrier and suspension and reduces the stress on the teeth. Wearing the splint requires a certain amount of getting used to, which is achieved quickly. As a rule, splint therapy already reduces the discomfort caused by crunching after a short period of getting used to it, as the crunching is prevented.
Patients report that they sleep better and get up in the morning without pain in the jaw, chewing apparatus and joints.
Since the splint wears out after a while, it is advisable to check it at least once a year at every dental check-up. A new splint should be made every two years to ensure optimal protection against crunching at night.
homeopathy
There are some dentists who, in addition to splint therapy, prescribe homeopathic remedies for symptoms of crunching during the night. These are globules that are used in addition to conservative therapy should have a supportive effect, to relieve symptoms and gain a sense of achievement faster.
The globules that are prescribed include, for example Cinawhich consists of a Aster species originates. These globules are prescribed with the strength D6 and, in addition to the crunch, also help against Convulsions. Also will continue Cuprum metallicum and Magnesium phosphoricum prescribed in strength D12. Magnesium phosphoricum is also called Schüssler salt number 7 known and helps Suffering from stress. Cuprum metallicum D12 In addition to crunching symptoms, it also relieves cramps and is therefore preferred.
In some cases, homeopathy can help in addition to conventional therapy, but its effect has not been scientifically proven.
