A question came through Twitter asking What Causes Teeth Grinding or Gnashing of Teeth?
This is a commonly asked question in most dental offices, but the answer is often challenging. While there’s been lots of research done on the subject of tooth grinding and tooth clenching, so far we really don’t know why it occurs but let’s explore what we do know.
Tooth Clenching is the squeezing of the teeth together straight up and down with various amounts of pressure.
Tooth Bruxism is grinding of the teeth from side to side along with up and down pressure.
Bruxism or Clenching commonly occurs during sleep and is commonly referred to as “Sleep Bruxism” and occurs even virtually every human. The difference between people that suffer from Bruxism and those that don’t is the quantity of the bruxism bursts. In most studies the control group(those that don’t suffer from Bruxism) exhibit roughly 2 bruxism episodes per hour, while those with Bruxism exhibit 6 or more bruxism episodes per hour. We don’t know why non-bruxers, “Grind” their teeth during sleep patterns. We also don’t know why a true bruxers grind their teeth more.
Tooth Grinding can also occur during the day, this can occur during a stressful part of the day, i.e. driving in traffic or a tough day at work. Problems with the way your teeth come together can also lead to tooth grinding. If there is an area that comes together before the others, this can lead to tooth grinding, as a response to the high spot.
In subsequent articles we’ll discuss the effects and possible treatment options for tooth grinding. Tooth Grinding can be devastating to the teeth, leading to destruction of the hardest substance in the body, your tooth enamel.