Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypesSymptomsDiagnosisCauses and Risk FactorsTreatmentCoping

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Types

Symptoms

Diagnosis

Causes and Risk Factors

Treatment

Coping

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Have you ever felt so stressed that you found yourself grinding or clenching your teeth? Bruxism is a repetitive movement disorder in which a person routinely grinds, clenches, or gnashes their teeth using the jaw muscles.The specific causes of bruxism aren’t fully understood, but we do know that certain psychological factors are sometimes connected. Stress, anxiety, anger, and certain personality traits can increase the risk for teeth grinding in some individuals.

Bruxism can involve all the teeth or only the front teeth and can also include symptoms ranging from headaches or facial pain to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder.

Certain medications increase the risk of bruxism,so sometimes, a prescription change could be all it takes to ​resolve the condition. Other people may need more help, such as taking measures to relieve stress (people often grind their teeth when they’re nervous or under pressure) or wearing a mouth guard during sleep.

At a GlanceNumerous factors may contribute to bruxism, but emotions, personality traits, and certain substances can play a part. Certain conditions, like ADHD and night terrors, are also linked to teeth grinding. Grinding your teeth can not only lead to tooth damage, it can also contribute to disrupted sleep, muscle tension, and headaches. If you are struggling with bruxism, talk to your doctor. They may recommend therapy, mouth guards, or medications that can help. Taking steps to avoid hard to chew foods, utilizing relaxing strategies, and practicing good sleep hygiene may also help you cope.

At a Glance

Numerous factors may contribute to bruxism, but emotions, personality traits, and certain substances can play a part. Certain conditions, like ADHD and night terrors, are also linked to teeth grinding. Grinding your teeth can not only lead to tooth damage, it can also contribute to disrupted sleep, muscle tension, and headaches. If you are struggling with bruxism, talk to your doctor. They may recommend therapy, mouth guards, or medications that can help. Taking steps to avoid hard to chew foods, utilizing relaxing strategies, and practicing good sleep hygiene may also help you cope.

Types of Bruxism

There are two types of bruxism, and their symptoms and causes can differ:

Symptoms of Bruxism

symptoms can range from person to person depending on whether they grind their teeth during the day or overnight. Most of the time, bruxism isn’t severe enough to cause major problems.

Signs and symptoms of bruxism may include:

How Doctors Diagnose Bruxism

In many cases, people with bruxism don’t even realize the problem. Instead, it’s often their sleep partner or parent who first notices since they may hear them grind their teeth during the night.

Bruxism is often diagnosed during a dental exam. A dentist will check for worn or broken teeth, damage to the inside of the cheek, jaw muscle tenderness, and TMJ. Your dentist may also take an X-ray to determine if there’s been any damage to the underlying bone tissue.

Since bruxism is associated with a greater risk of sleep apnea, you may also undergo a sleep study to evaluate teeth-grinding episodes and determine if a sleep-related disorder is present.

Bruxism Causes and Risk Factors

There are many different reasons why you might grind your teeth. Several factors may increase a person’s risk of having bruxism, which include:

Related ConditionsIn addition, bruxism has been associated with certain medical conditions. These include:Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD)DementiaEpilepsyGastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD)Night terrorsParkinson’s diseaseSleep apnea(and other sleep-related disorders)

In addition, bruxism has been associated with certain medical conditions. These include:Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD)DementiaEpilepsyGastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD)Night terrorsParkinson’s diseaseSleep apnea(and other sleep-related disorders)

In addition, bruxism has been associated with certain medical conditions. These include:

Treatment for Bruxism

The good news is that bruxism is highly treatable. The key to successful treatment is to figure out what is causing you to grind your teeth and then target your treatment to the cause.

Therapy

Whenchronic stressoranxietyis driving you to gnash and grind your teeth, it may be helpful to see a therapist.

Once you’ve dealt with the issues that are causing your emotional distress, you may find that your bruxism abates.

Counseling can also help with sleep habit modification and relaxation techniques. If other efforts fail to help you stop grinding your teeth,biofeedbackmay be worth trying. This is a method that uses monitoring procedures and equipment to teach you to control muscle activity in your jaw.

Mouthguards and Splint Therapy

If you’re a night grinder, a mouthguard (also known as an appliance or occlusal splint) may be helpful. Some guards fit over the top teeth while others fit over the bottom teeth. They may be designed to keep your jaw in a more relaxed position or to provide some other function.

Medications

Coping With Bruxism

While bruxism is often not serious, it can lead to a lot of discomfort. Your jaw and head may ache from your nightly tooth grinding. If your bruxism is causing you pain, try these steps at home to help:

Takeaways

Grinding your teeth, whether awake or asleep, can lead to serious pain and lasting damage to your teeth. You might not even realize you’re doing it, but aching jaw muscles, damaged teeth, headaches, and neck pain are major clues that it might be happening.

If you are experiencing bruxism, it’s important to consider some of the mental health factors that are playing a role. If stress, anxiety, or other emotions are contributing to bruxism, talk to your doctor about treatments that might help, including therapy, medications, and relaxation strategies.

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8 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Ella B, Ghorayeb I, Burbaud P, Guehl D.Bruxism in movement disorders: A comprehensive review.J Prosthodont. 2017;26(7):599-605. doi:10.1111/jopr.12479Falisi G, Rastelli C, Panti F, Maglione H, Quezada Arcega R.Psychotropic drugs and bruxism.Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2014;13(10):1319-26. doi:10.1517/14740338.2014.947262Reddy SV, Kumar MP, Sravanthi D, Mohsin AH, Anuhya V.Bruxism: A literature review.J Int Oral Health. 2014;6(6):105-109.UptoDate.Sleep-related bruxism (tooth grinding).Lobbezoo F, Visscher CM, Ahlberg J, Manfredini D.Bruxism and genetics: A review of the literature.J Oral Rehabil. 2014;41(9):709-14. doi:10.1111/joor.12177Guaita M, Högl B.Current treatments of bruxism.Curr Treat Options Neurol. 2016;18(2):10. doi:10.1007/s11940-016-0396-3Asutay F, Atalay Y, Asutay H, Acar AH.The evaluation of the clinical effects of botulinum toxin on nocturnal bruxism.Pain Res Manag. 2017;2017:6264146. doi:10.1155/2017/6264146Bertazzo-Silveira E, Kruger CM, Porto de toledo I, et al.Association between sleep bruxism and alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, and drug abuse: A systematic review.J Am Dent Assoc. 2016;147(11):859-866.e4. doi:10.1016/j.adaj.2016.06.014

8 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Ella B, Ghorayeb I, Burbaud P, Guehl D.Bruxism in movement disorders: A comprehensive review.J Prosthodont. 2017;26(7):599-605. doi:10.1111/jopr.12479Falisi G, Rastelli C, Panti F, Maglione H, Quezada Arcega R.Psychotropic drugs and bruxism.Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2014;13(10):1319-26. doi:10.1517/14740338.2014.947262Reddy SV, Kumar MP, Sravanthi D, Mohsin AH, Anuhya V.Bruxism: A literature review.J Int Oral Health. 2014;6(6):105-109.UptoDate.Sleep-related bruxism (tooth grinding).Lobbezoo F, Visscher CM, Ahlberg J, Manfredini D.Bruxism and genetics: A review of the literature.J Oral Rehabil. 2014;41(9):709-14. doi:10.1111/joor.12177Guaita M, Högl B.Current treatments of bruxism.Curr Treat Options Neurol. 2016;18(2):10. doi:10.1007/s11940-016-0396-3Asutay F, Atalay Y, Asutay H, Acar AH.The evaluation of the clinical effects of botulinum toxin on nocturnal bruxism.Pain Res Manag. 2017;2017:6264146. doi:10.1155/2017/6264146Bertazzo-Silveira E, Kruger CM, Porto de toledo I, et al.Association between sleep bruxism and alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, and drug abuse: A systematic review.J Am Dent Assoc. 2016;147(11):859-866.e4. doi:10.1016/j.adaj.2016.06.014

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Ella B, Ghorayeb I, Burbaud P, Guehl D.Bruxism in movement disorders: A comprehensive review.J Prosthodont. 2017;26(7):599-605. doi:10.1111/jopr.12479Falisi G, Rastelli C, Panti F, Maglione H, Quezada Arcega R.Psychotropic drugs and bruxism.Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2014;13(10):1319-26. doi:10.1517/14740338.2014.947262Reddy SV, Kumar MP, Sravanthi D, Mohsin AH, Anuhya V.Bruxism: A literature review.J Int Oral Health. 2014;6(6):105-109.UptoDate.Sleep-related bruxism (tooth grinding).Lobbezoo F, Visscher CM, Ahlberg J, Manfredini D.Bruxism and genetics: A review of the literature.J Oral Rehabil. 2014;41(9):709-14. doi:10.1111/joor.12177Guaita M, Högl B.Current treatments of bruxism.Curr Treat Options Neurol. 2016;18(2):10. doi:10.1007/s11940-016-0396-3Asutay F, Atalay Y, Asutay H, Acar AH.The evaluation of the clinical effects of botulinum toxin on nocturnal bruxism.Pain Res Manag. 2017;2017:6264146. doi:10.1155/2017/6264146Bertazzo-Silveira E, Kruger CM, Porto de toledo I, et al.Association between sleep bruxism and alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, and drug abuse: A systematic review.J Am Dent Assoc. 2016;147(11):859-866.e4. doi:10.1016/j.adaj.2016.06.014

Ella B, Ghorayeb I, Burbaud P, Guehl D.Bruxism in movement disorders: A comprehensive review.J Prosthodont. 2017;26(7):599-605. doi:10.1111/jopr.12479

Falisi G, Rastelli C, Panti F, Maglione H, Quezada Arcega R.Psychotropic drugs and bruxism.Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2014;13(10):1319-26. doi:10.1517/14740338.2014.947262

Reddy SV, Kumar MP, Sravanthi D, Mohsin AH, Anuhya V.Bruxism: A literature review.J Int Oral Health. 2014;6(6):105-109.

UptoDate.Sleep-related bruxism (tooth grinding).

Lobbezoo F, Visscher CM, Ahlberg J, Manfredini D.Bruxism and genetics: A review of the literature.J Oral Rehabil. 2014;41(9):709-14. doi:10.1111/joor.12177

Guaita M, Högl B.Current treatments of bruxism.Curr Treat Options Neurol. 2016;18(2):10. doi:10.1007/s11940-016-0396-3

Asutay F, Atalay Y, Asutay H, Acar AH.The evaluation of the clinical effects of botulinum toxin on nocturnal bruxism.Pain Res Manag. 2017;2017:6264146. doi:10.1155/2017/6264146

Bertazzo-Silveira E, Kruger CM, Porto de toledo I, et al.Association between sleep bruxism and alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, and drug abuse: A systematic review.J Am Dent Assoc. 2016;147(11):859-866.e4. doi:10.1016/j.adaj.2016.06.014

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