Are you Stressed?

Do you often wake up in the morning with headaches?

We all have different ways to take out our stress.

Some people listen to music, some people go shopping, some people play sports, some people take a nap.

Those are activities people do consciously to take out stress. But unconsciously you might be clenching your teeth while you are doing any of the above activities.

What is Clenching? It is tightening of your jaw muscles that force the teeth to be pressed on together.

How do you know you are clenching? Sometimes you can see indentations of your teeth on the side of your tongue. You can also see “ABFRACTIONS” on your teeth.

Now… What is an abfraction? These are notches (missing tooth structure) alongside the gum line. I call them notches because they are wedge-shaped or V shaped.

People often mistake them for ABRASIONS - which are smooth wear of the tooth structure along the gum line. These are formed from brushing too hard or consuming too much acidic food or drinks.

How do you get rid of these abfractions?

First, you need to fix the habit of clenching before we can restore your teeth.

Less invasive treatments are offered first. For example, massaging the jaw muscles before going to sleep, using hot compresses before going to sleep, taking NSAIDS ( its short for non-steroidal anti-inflammtory drugs- eg Advil, Aleve) before going to sleep.

Sometimes orally taken muscle relaxants (Flexeril) are prescribed.

If none of the non-invasive methods have helped, Botox is given on the jaw muscles.

Once the habit is minimized then the teeth can be restored. Depending on the severity of the missing tooth structure, it can be a simple resin filling or it could even need a crown to fully cover the tooth structure.

Night Guard / Occlusal Guard is used in conjunction with non-invasive methods to help protect tooth structure and to aid relaxation of jaw muscles.

Since clenching is an unconscious habit, you might not be aware of the habit. Take a look at the mirror see if there are any visible signs and visit your dentist to get it checked :)