Signs You Might Need a Night Guard

When you’re worried, afraid, or stressed, it’s typical to react by clenching or grinding your teeth. However, some people clench or grind their teeth constantly, even without the presence of a stressor and without realizing it. 

Subconscious teeth grinding or clenching is called bruxism. Many people do it while they're asleep, which is referred to as sleep bruxism and is a sleep disorder. 

Unfortunately, if you grind or clench your teeth at night and don’t realize you’re doing it, you could be applying up to 250 pounds of force on your teeth, damaging your oral health. 

Night guards are helpful tools for those living with sleep bruxism. However, as stated above, it can be almost impossible to know if you’re grinding or clenching your teeth at night without regular visits to your dentist.

In this month’s blog, our team led by Nodesh Shyamsunder, BDS, and Jasleen Raina, DDS, at Beaches Dentistry in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, highlight ways to tell if you have sleep bruxism and when you need night guard treatment. 

Sleep bruxism signs and symptoms

Many things can increase your risk of developing sleep bruxism, such as having high stress or anxiety, drinking lots of caffeine or alcohol, using cocaine or amphetamines, taking antidepressants, or smoking regularly.

While the main symptom of sleep bruxism is clenching or grinding your teeth at night, you may notice these side effects of bruxism during the day:

• Facial pain
• Headaches
• Clicking or popping noises in your jaw
• Jaw pain and stiffness
• Ear pain
• Broken fillings

You may even wear down the entire surface of your teeth or cause them to break or eventually fall out. 

When to seek professional care for sleep bruxism

If you notice any symptoms or signs of sleep bruxism listed above, don’t wait to see our team for an official diagnosis. Your provider examines your teeth and jaw and asks about your symptoms before moving on to a treatment plan. 

Once we determine you have bruxism, our team provides you with a custom-made mouthguard that you must wear every night to protect your teeth while you sleep. Although the mouthguard is the most effective treatment for bruxism, you can also implement healthy lifestyle habits to reduce teeth grinding and clenching. 

Some guidelines include finding ways to reduce stress, limit alcohol and caffeine intake, and focus on relaxing your jaw during the day. 

Schedule an appointment with our team by calling or using our online booking feature today to learn more about our expert-level sleep bruxism treatment.