Sleep Bruxism or Tooth Grinding

 

Grinding your teeth at night is called Sleep Bruxism. This involuntary clenching and grinding of the teeth can cause tooth wear, cracked teeth and pain in the jaw muscles and joints. Often, it is accompanied by headaches in the morning and ear pain. Tooth grinding can be related to sleep arousals from Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

 

This is usually treated with a custom-made oral appliance, botox injections or physiotherapy.  Stress management can help to decrease pain.