A sleep disorder characterized by clenching the jaw or grinding the teeth during sleep. Bruxism is common in adolescents and, in many cases, tends to decrease with age.*
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Dentists are usually the first to discover that a patient has bruxism, though a patient's bed partner may also complain about the noise that comes from teeth grinding while asleep.
Bruxism could be caused by:
- an extreme manifestation of otherwise normal behavioral activity taking place during sleep
- a coping or personality style reflective of task-oriented subjects that leads to jaw grinding during sleep
- imbalances in neurotransmitter activities which exacerbate teeth grinding and jaw muscle contraction during sleep
- genetics or familial predisposition to bruxism
- an association with sleep breathing disorders like sleep apnea
- an association with a preexisting neurological movement disorder like Parkinson's or Tourette's
- drug factors (abuse of chemical substances or as side effects of prescribed medications)
- certain clinically diagnosed mental health problems like dementia
Side effects of bruxism:
- headaches in the morning
- facial pain
- sinus pain
- earache
- ringing ears
- muscle soreness in the jaw
- stiff neck and shoulder muscles
- tooth loosening
- fractured teeth and damaged fillings
- enamel loss
- receding or inflamed gums
- tongue scalloping
- poor sleep quality
Treatments include:
- behavioral therapies
- oral/dental appliances
- relaxation therapies
- medications (though there are side effects to consider)
Links to learn more:
Bruxism and Sleep || Principles & Practices of Sleep Medicine
Teeth Clenching and Grinding
Grinding Teeth? Perhaps it's your meds
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*SOURCE for DEFINITIONS:
Spriggs, WH. (2010.) Glossary. In Essentials of Polysomnography (pp585-606). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers
