Teeth Grinding

Beating Bruxism

Teeth grinding (also called bruxism) is when you grind or clench your teeth together. Most sufferers do this subconsciously when they’re stressed, focussed, or even sleeping. Over time, it can cause severe damage to your teeth and further complications to your oral health.

Our team of professionals at Ashfield Dental Centre have years of experience in diagnosing and treating bruxism. When you visit our trusted dentists, you can rest assured that we’ll only recommend treatment options that are necessary and best for your individual case.

Book a consultation today

and we can help you beat teeth grinding for good

Why seek treatment?

Untreated bruxism can lead to further complications, including severe headaches, chips and cracks in your teeth, a sore mouth and gum disease. If you have crowns, bridges, dental implants or dentures, grinding your teeth can cause them to wear away and reduce their life span.

How it's treated

Since grinding your teeth is generally habitual, it’s treated through behaviour modification rather than medical intervention. Your dentist may suggest wearing a mouthguard or mouth splint to create a physical protective barrier between your teeth.

If stress or anxiety are causing you to grind your teeth, you may be recommended to seek treatment from a mental health professional. Your dentist may also recommend anti-inflammatory medication or a muscle relaxant to help minimise pain in your joints, jaw and teeth.

Seeking a diagnosis

It’s often easiest to bring up your concerns during your regular six month check-up. We can assess your concerns, help develop a plan to correct your problem and guide you through the treatment process. In the meantime, you can try to recognise when you’re grinding your teeth on your own and unclench them. It may also help to cut back on alcohol, smoking and recreational drugs as these can contribute to grinding your teeth.

Symptoms to watch

Since you generally aren’t aware of what you’re doing when you grind your teeth, a lot of people don’t realise they have a problem until it has severe consequences. Signs to look out for include:

Waking up with a headache or jaw pain
Indentations on your tongue
Flattened, chipped or damaged teeth
Teeth sensitivity/loss of enamel
Noise when grinding that can be heard by others