Tooth Grinding Possible causes and what you can do

April 1, 2019

Tooth grinding has only recently picked up as a popular dental problem. Many people still don’t take it seriously and prefer calling it just another idiosyncrasy. That said, many dentists including the experts at Brooklin Village Dental Care believe that it is reflection of other major health problems or possible dental problems.

Here are a few possible reasons, why you might be experiencing teeth grinding at night:

Medication Side Effect

There is a considerable probability that the habit is a mere side effect of some medication recently started consuming. If the new medication is not essential for your daily jobs, you can stop it for a week or so and observe whether you still have the teeth grinding habit. If the habit is gone – you have the answer.

Stress/Anxiety

A more logical, a common reason, behind people grinding teeth at night is sheer stress or a residual effect of excess anxiety. The stress and anxiety might be momentary and hence, even the teeth grinding habit can be momentary. That said, if the problem persists even when there is no incident or action in your life inducing the stress, you should talk to your dentist about it.

Habit

For some people, grinding teeth at night involuntarily started as an issue but it stuck with them and became a habit. Yes, people may not do it publically or may not even know that they are doing it while they’re asleep, but it should be examined why does an individual do it – out of sheer habit, or as a result of some larger problem.

A rather common trait of such behavioural idiosyncrasies is the habit of stimming. If you are someone who has a stimming habit, grinding teeth at night involuntarily may come more naturally to you than you can imagine.

Diet

Yes, even diet and dietary changes can cause someone to grind teeth at night. Now, if that raises questions in your head – imagine this, so many people consume deserts when they are stressed. Many people have said that consuming food actually creates a sense of happiness for them. So, when there are changes in their diet – it may mean an induction of stress, which can eventually lead to teeth grinding.

Lastly, it can also be a result of more complex dental problems such as oral hyposensitivity and global hyposensitivity.

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