Some people experience involuntary teeth grinding and/or clenching in their sleep. This can be very damaging because the amount of force exerted on teeth can be many times greater while asleep than awake.
Some indications are:
- Worn/flattened teeth
- Sensitive teeth
- Sore jaw joints
- Tender jaw muscles
- Headaches
- Tension in the neck and shoulders
- Indentations of the teeth on the tongue and cheeks
If left untreated, the constant high force of teeth rubbing and grinding against each other can result in cracked teeth, broken fillings, excessive tooth wear, and pain in the jaw joints and muscles.
To minimise this damage, a night guard (splint) can be worn overnight, which creates a barrier between your upper and lower teeth. At Parade Dental Ocean Grove, we custom make night guards from moulds taken of your teeth. We ensure that your bite is even across your night guard, in order to maximise comfort and effectiveness.
In some cases, teeth grinding or clenching may be a sign of an underlying medical condition known as sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea is a disorder in which breathing is repetitively interrupted during sleep due to collapse of the upper airway. This can be pauses in breathing or periods of shallow breathing. Your body may not be getting the oxygen and rest that it needs, which can worsen other medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart problems.
If you experience daytime sleepiness, nightly snoring, nightly visits to the bathroom, or headaches upon waking, you may be at risk of sleep apnoea. At Parade Dental Ocean Grove, we screen for sleep apnoea and help you organise referrals to your local doctor for further investigation with a sleep specialist in Geelong.
If you are diagnosed with sleep apnoea and your sleep specialist recommends an oral appliance, we can help you fabricate a sleep apnoea splint (mandibular advancement splint) which holds the lower jaw in a forward position to increase the airway space that allows for greater airflow and breathing. For some people, this is enough to manage their sleep apnoea.
