Bruxism – Prevention and Damage Repair in Derby

Subconscious teeth grinding can have a major impact on our dental health.

Bruxism, or teeth grinding as it is more commonly known, is a relatively common ‘habit’ that many of us have even though we may not be aware of it. Whilst some, of a nervous disposition, may grind their teeth during their waking hours, the vast majority of us will do so whilst asleep.

In many cases, this teeth grinding is a sign of tension and stress and, if this is due to a particular situation, may just be a passing phase and not cause any significant lasting damage.

However, for some, regular teeth grinding at night can cause significant damage to the teeth. In most cases, this will manifest in the wearing down of the enamel, making the tooth subsequently more susceptible to decay. In very severe cases, it has also been know to break the teeth, often beyond repair by ‘traditional’ techniques such as the use of dental crowns etc.

Prevention

If we grind our teeth whilst we are awake, we may be able to overcome this through determination alone, making an effort to notice when we are doing it and to stop ourselves. Whilst asleep though, this is obviously not possible and a different path needs to be taken.

There are devices available which can be fitted by a dentist. These prevent the teeth from meeting if we try to grind them whilst asleep. Whilst effective though, some people do find these uncomfortable to wear and often remove them after a while.

The only sure fire way to prevent bruxism is to eliminate the cause. In most cases, this will be stress related and as stress is also known to be a major factor in many illnesses, it makes sense to relieve it as much as we can.

One method of course is to avoid situations which cause us stress but this is not always possible, or even desirable. A more positive approach is to use relaxation techniques such as meditation and for some, herbal remedies may also help. As professional dentists in Derby, our main focus is your teeth and oral health and consequently we recommend that you seek professional help if your stress is significant.

Dental Repairs

What we can do at our Derbyshire dental implant centre, is to offer solutions to repair any damage that has been done to your teeth. In some cases a dental crown can be used to repair a broken tooth; however in many cases the tooth will be so badly damaged that this is no longer feasible.

At the Darren Bywater Dental Implant Centre, we have highly skilled implant dentists who are able to replace any badly damaged teeth with high quality dental implants to offer long lasting replacements for the broken teeth.

Whilst we would, quite naturally, prefer our patients to take action to prevent them grinding their teeth, we can at least offer reassurance to those who have already badly damaged their teeth that we can offer a solution which will be equal in strength to their natural teeth and will also feel natural and comfortable too.

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