Definition
We speak of teeth grinding or clenching (bruxism) when the teeth are exposed to abnormally high muscular load excessively often. This can, for example, lead to signs of wear and tear on the tooth or to muscular complaints of the chewing muscles. It can also promote inflammation of the periodontium.
Teeth grinding at night is a widespread “clinical picture”. It is usually triggered psychologically, which means that teeth grinding is usually a means for the body to cope with stress. In rare cases, malpositioned teeth can be the cause. Teeth grinding at night is often only noticed by the affected person after a long time. Often the partner notices the teeth grinding at night because of the sounds it makes.
Symptoms of crunching
In general, prolonged grinding of teeth shows signs of wear and tear on natural teeth. This concerns first of all the canines, whose canine tip is lost or an oblique incisal edge is formed. After that, anterior and posterior teeth are affected.
Especially when teeth are grinded at night, pain when biting together or pain in the temporomandibular joint (pain in and around the ear) can occur in the morning. This pain often improves during the course of the day. There can also be tension or cramp in the chewing muscles, which are often mistakenly interpreted as toothache. In the course of such muscular tensions, mouth opening complaints can also occur or further tensions of the skeletal muscles (neck) can follow.
Causes of nightly teeth grinding
Almost one in three Germans regularly grind their teeth at night. This is primarily caused by stress situations and the psychological suffering that goes with it. In life situations that gnaw at the psyche, the body tries to compensate for what has happened.
This happens at night while the body shuts down and recovers. It is possible that patients only develop the crunch when exam stress or family problems occur, but do not suffer any symptoms when they are mentally satisfied. Crunching symptoms may also occur in an alcoholic state or under the influence of drugs, when sleep is disturbed.
Crunching can often occur even after treatment with dentures. If crowns or fillings are too high or limit the lower jaw mobility, they can lead to teeth grinding, as the body tries to achieve an even bite position and rubs down the pre-contact of the tooth that is too high. Malformations of the dentition, such as crooked teeth, also cause grinding at night. Grinding is normal in children with milk or mixed dentition, as the optimal bite is achieved through grinding. This situation is the only case in which the grinding is not pathological.