How To Know If You Grind Your Teeth While Sleeping
Do you sleep poorly and do your jaw or teeth hurt in the morning? You may have bruxism, a condition which causes you to grind your teeth or clench your jaw during the night. Since you’re asleep while bruxism is happening, it can be hard to know if you have it, so you may have to look for signs that something is happening when you wake up in the morning.
If your bruxism is mild or occurs intermittently, you might not need treatment, but if it’s frequent or severe enough to cause damage, you’ll want to purchase a night guard.
Click here to learn more about how night guards can help.
Here are some signs that you grind your teeth while sleeping:
You Have Problems with Your Teeth
If your teeth are slowly wearing on the biting edge over time or you have unexplained chips or cracks in your teeth, you may be grinding away your teeth or putting too much pressure on them at night. A custom night guard for teeth grinding will prevent your teeth from taking any further damage. It will also diminish any tooth sensitivity that you might experience from bruxism. If you have a partner that hears you sleep, they may notice they can hear the grinding of your teeth’s surfaces while you sleep.
Your Jaw Hurts in the Morning
Bruxism also results in jaw clenching and can put strain on the joint. If you wake up with facial pain, a headache near your temples, or an earache without problems with your ear, it could be coming from your jaw. You might notice that you have tense facial and jaw muscles, even during the day. Your jaw might also pop, click, or lock in a condition called temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), which is common in people that experience severe bruxism. In the worst cases, TMJ can cause jaw dislocation.
The Soft Tissues in Your Mouth Get Damaged
Lastly, bruxism might affect your tongue and cheeks. If you’re gnawing your tongue at night, you might find unexplained indentations on your tongue. If you’re biting your cheeks, you could find sore areas or canker sores that cannot be explained by something that happened during the day.
Purchase a Custom Night Guard for Teeth Grinding
If you identify with any of the problems listed above, it might be time to purchase a custom night guard for teeth grinding. Night guards are the best treatment for bruxism. A custom night guard will mold comfortably to your teeth and allow you to get a good night’s sleep without sleep disturbances from grinding your teeth.
You can easily order a custom night guard for teeth grinding online in a variety of thicknesses and materials to suit your needs. The online company will ship an impression kit to your house for you to take a mold of your own teeth. When you’re finished, you simply send it back, and they’ll make a custom guard that you can wear nightly to protect your teeth and stop jaw pain.