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OK, I'll say it: I'm a teeth grinder. I actually have no idea what teeth grinding sounds like, but Mr. Cafe Kim assures me it's bad. He wakes me up every few nights alerting me to the fact that I am grinding my teeth and asking if I could please try to stop. (I usually can't.) I feel bad about the noise, but what worries me more is that fact that I'm actually wearing down one of my top front teeth—it's actually shorter than the other one!
According to The New York Times, dentists are seeing an large increase in the number of teeth grinders. In fact, as many as 10 to 15 percent of Americans grind their teeth—and most don't even know it! I probably wouldn't have known it if it weren't for my husband telling me (although that chunk of missing tooth might well have been a clue.) And it's not just the sound that worries dentists: Teeth grinding can cause enamel erosion and fractured teeth, as well as jaw pain, face pain, and headaches.
So why do people grind their teeth? Genetics play a role, sure, but dentists think stress is the main reason behind teeth grinding. And because people are so stressed these days with the down economy, it makes sense that teeth grinding is on the rise. (I don't feel any more stressed out than usual, so this explanation doesn't exactly apply to me, but it's interesting all the same.)
So what can you do about teeth grinding? My dentist recommended against putting veneers on my teeth, because they're expensive and in his opinion, I'll just grind those off, too. (Lovely.)
My other option is to wear a mouth guard at night. I've been holding off, though, because it reminds me too much of wearing headgear in middle school. Other treatments include: acupuncture, medical massage, hypnosis, and Botox. I'm not ready for any of those; in the meantime, I think I'm going to focus on a good old-fashioned teeth-grinding treatment: trying to de-stress before bedtime.
We'll see if that works.
Do you grind your teeth?
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Comments (9)
My son grinds his teeth at night sometimes and it IS the worst sound ever. I hate it and there's nothing I can do about it.
I got a mouthguard for nighttime, and I love it -- it's now hard for me to fall asleep without it! They are kind of like security blankets for stressed-out adults ;).
I do.. I didnt know I did but my husband told me I do everyday. Sometimes I wake up with an aching mouth and throbbing teeth... makes sense why now!.
My daughter grinds her teeth during the day, while she's walking or playing, and it's only started recently, and it drives me crazy!! DH does it at night once in a while, but I just have to shake him a little and he'll stop, DD on the other hand thinks it's funny, but I think she's starting to listen to me when I tell her it will hurt her teeth (she loves her teeth, I always tell her how beautiful they are).
My 11 month old grinds her teeth and I feel like I'm going to die. There's no worse sound in thr world to me.
I use to at night and I have to watch myself during the day. It hurts my teeth so much when I do it but I seem just to do it without noticing. My son started about a month ago and the noise is insane. I couldn't believe how awful the noise was when I first heard him do it.
According to my dh I'm the worst tooth grinder he's ever heard. He says he's amazed I have teeth left. I have tried mouth guards, but even in my sleep remove them and continue to grind. Though I don't do it when I feel relaxed- for me it definitely is directly related to the amount of stress or tension I'm feeling. My children do it too from time to time-
Jeff has grind his teeth since he was a little boy. We had try the mount guild a special piece the DR make for him, he hates then all so much. He would wait until we were a sleep and take it out. I would try the other things first. Yes the sound is horrible.
Yes---I do and I have since I was a kid, before all this financial crisis stuff. LOL. I just had to get my four front teeth crowned and I still grind my molars. It is dangerous--you can lose those teeth. I bought a mouth guard and it bothers me so I take it out during the night. But I grind them during the day ioo! Arghhh! i was born tense and stressed. LOL.