How To Stop Grinding Teeth

You may wake up in the morning and have a very sore jaw. The main reason is usually that you are undergoing bruxism at night – that means that you are grinding your teeth. If left unchecked, it can do a lot more damage than just having soreness in the morning. Ultimately, you can wind up severely damaging your teeth or also bringing other conditions into the picture, like TMJ – temporomandibular joint disorder. 

Fortunately, there are a good amount of solutions out there that can help you fix this problem and keep you from having to pay a lot of money for expensive surgery down the road. All it takes is some research – using reputable sources, mind you – and discussions with a Bethpage cosmetic dentist to get you back on track. Your jaw and teeth will thank you for your being proactive. 

Here are some excellent ways to stop grinding your teeth. 

Find The Root Cause – And Address It

The reason for it may be very plainly obvious – you’re leading a stressful life. It might be because of your work – or lack thereof, your home life, or something else going on. Whatever the case, it’s still following you when you put your head on the pillow each night. While you’re sleeping, you’re grinding your teeth together. By doing that, you’re risking long-term damage to your enamel or even having cracked teeth which will force you to seek treatment from a Hicksville restorative dentist. 

Do a self-assessment. Is there something that’s giving you stress? It might be hard to do since people adapt to their environment and what might have seemed stressful at first might seem routine. But still – is your job too hectic? Does your boss micromanage you? Are you making enough to cover expenses? The global pandemic surely added a lot of stress for people. 

Do Not Engage In Bad Habits

It’s very easy to slip mindlessly into doing things that can damage your teeth while preoccupied with something like reading or scanning the latest on social media. Biting your nails, for example. Chewing on a pen cap or a pencil. Those can lead to teeth grinding and cause you to damage your teeth. Biting on ice cubes can also be problematic. Find other things to do while you are doing the above tasks. 

If you find it difficult, then you can take steps like cutting your nails short so they cannot be chewed or even put a foul-tasting thing on them to get you to stop doing it. See what is possibly causing the issue in the first thing. Try to be present while you are doing the other things so that you won’t be tempted to start the habit unconsciously. If you find yourself unable to cease these habits, visit your local Hicksville family dental office to see how they may be able to help.

Wear a Mouthguard

This is a popular method of correcting the issue. Your Bethpage dental sleep therapy dentist will take a mold of your mouth and then have a mouthguard made that prevents your upper and lower jaws from touching while you sleep. This will greatly reduce the amount of stress on your teeth and jaw and you will find that you sleep better at night. 

Like everything else, there are cons to the mouthguard. It may be difficult to get used to and that can lead to abandoning it. Dentists recommend putting it in at least 10 minutes before you go to bed. That can allow you to adjust to sleeping with it. For those not used to breathing through their noses while sleeping, there’s an adjustment period. It also depends on whether you get a disposable one, one that you boil to soften or a custom-made one. The last one is the best quality – though the price will be higher.

There are a lot of factors that can contribute to bruxism and correcting them might not be the easiest thing. Sometimes it’s impossible to quit a stressful job since things like health insurance may be tied to it – but working on ways to alleviate it, even for as short as 15 minutes of meditation at home before bed – can be a great help. Whatever you decide, it’s best to talk to a Hicksville sleep therapy dentist about it. 

When it comes to helping patients stop grinding their teeth at night, Dr. Krupali Shah and the staff at Bethpage Smiles are experts. They can see you, diagnose your problem and come up with a custom solution that will work for you. Soon, the issue will be a thing of the past. Give them a call today to make an appointment – 516-822-6659 or contact Bethpage Smiles to learn more about our dental sleep therapy services.

Bethpage Smiles Family Dental – Dr. Krupali Shah
120 Bethpage Rd suite 310,
Hicksville, NY 11801
Phone: (516) 822-6659