Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry

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Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry
BRUXISM
Prepared by
Aneesha Abdu
Guided by Prof.Dr.Biniraj K R
3rd year BDS Royal Dental College
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What is bruxism?

• Bruxism is the medical term for grinding,
  gnashing or clenching your teeth. This condition
  affects both kids and adults.
• Some people with bruxism unconsciously clench
  their teeth together during the day, often when
  they feel anxious or tense.-called as bruxomania
• Most kids who have bruxism and some adults with
  the condition grind or gnash their teeth during
  sleep, usually in the early part of the night.
  This is called sleep bruxism.

Som
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Why Bruxism should be treated?

• In most cases, bruxism is mild and may not even
  require treatment. However, it can be frequent
  and violent and can lead to jaw disorders,
  headaches, damaged teeth and other problems.
• Unfortunately, people with sleep bruxism usually
  aren't aware of the habit, so they aren't
  diagnosed with the condition until complications
  occur. That's why it's important to know the
  signs and symptoms of bruxism and to seek regular
  dental care.

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Causes

• Doctors don't completely understand the causes
  of bruxism.
• In some adults, abnormal alignment of upper and
  lower teeth (malocclusion) may contribute to the
  problem.
• More often, psychological factors cause bruxism,
  including
• Anxiety, stress or tension
• Suppressed anger or frustration
• Aggressive, competitive or hyperactive
  personality type

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• In children, bruxism may be related to growth and
  development. Some researchers think children brux
  because their top and bottom teeth don't fit
  together comfortably.
• Others believe that children grind their teeth
  because of tension, anger, allergy problems, or
  as a response to pain from an earache or
  teething.

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• Bruxism occurs in up to 30 percent of children,
  often around the ages of 5 and 6.
• It's particularly common in children with
  cerebral palsy or severe mental retardation.
• But most children outgrow bruxism before they
  get their adult teeth.

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• In some cases, bruxism is n't caused by stress or
  dental problems.
• It can be a complication of another disorder,
  such as Huntington's disease or Parkinson's
  disease.
• It can also be an uncommon side effect of some
  psychiatric medications including antidepressants.

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Signs and symptoms

• Teeth grinding or clenching, which may be loud
  enough to wake your sleep partner
• Teeth that are worn down, flattened or chipped
• Worn tooth enamel, exposing the inside of your
  tooth, Increased tooth sensitivity
• Jaw pain or tightness in your jaw muscles

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• Earache because of violent jaw muscle
  contractions, not a problem with your ear
• Dull morning headache
• Chronic facial pain
• Chewed tissue on the inside of your cheek

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Risk factors

• Stress- Increased anxiety or stress can lead to
  teeth grinding. So can anger and frustration.
• Age- Bruxism is common in young children, but
  usually goes away by age 10. In adults, the
  condition is common between the late teen years
  and the 40s. It tends to decrease with older age.
• Caffeine, nicotine and other drugs. Using
  caffeine, tobacco, cocaine or amphetamines seems
  to increase the risk of bruxism.

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Screening and diagnosis

• Physical signs of bruxism-
• unusual wear and tear on your teeth
• Broken dental restorations and tooth
  sensitivity.
• stress level, general dental health, daily
  medications
• Dentist may also ask your roommate or bed
  partner about sleep habits, especially about any
  unusual grinding sounds heard during the night.

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• Checking for tenderness in jaw muscles
• Obvious dental abnormalities, such as broken or
  missing teeth or poor tooth alignment.
• Dentist will also inspect teeth, the underlying
  bone and the inside of cheeks for damage caused
  by bruxism. He or she may make a series of X-rays
  of your mouth and jaw.

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When to seek medical advice

• Because bruxism often goes unnoticed, be aware of
  its signs and symptoms.
• If you have worn teeth or pain in your jaw, face
  or ear.
• Consult your doctor or dentist if your bed
  partner complains that you make a grinding noise
  while you sleep.

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Complications

• In most cases, bruxism doesn't cause serious
  complications.
• But severe bruxism may lead to
• Damage to your teeth or jaw
• Tension-type headaches
• Facial pain
• Temporomandibular disorders which occur in the
  temporomandibular joints (TMJs), located just in
  front of your ears and felt when opening and
  closing your mouth

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Treatment

• In many cases, no treatment is necessary. Many
  kids outgrow bruxism without special treatment,
  and many adults don't brux badly enough to
  require therapy. However, if the problem is
  severe, treatment options include

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1) Stress management.

• If you grind your teeth because of stress, you
  may be able to prevent the problem with
  professional counseling that promote relaxation,
  such as exercise and meditation.
• If your child grinds his or her teeth because of
  tension or fear, it may help to talk about your
  child's fears just before bed or to help your
  child relax with a warm bath or a favorite book

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2) Dental approaches.

• Mouth guard or protective dental appliance
  (splint) to prevent damage to your teeth. Dentist
  can make a custom mouth guard to fit mouth.
• Over-the-counter mouth guards are available and
  they're less expensive than custom guards, but
  they generally don't fit well and can dislodge
  during bruxing.

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• If bruxism seems to stem from dental problems,
  dentist may also correct misaligned teeth.
• In severe cases when tooth wear has led to
  sensitivity or the inability to chew properly
  your dentist may need to use overlays or crowns
  to entirely reshape the chewing surfaces of your
  teeth.

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3) Behavior therapy.

• Once you discover that you have bruxism, you may
  be able to change the behavior by practicing
  proper mouth and jaw position.
• Concentrate on resting your tongue upward with
  your teeth apart and your lips closed. This
  should keep your teeth from grinding and your jaw
  from clenching.

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4) Biofeedback

• Therapist applies electrical sensors to different
  parts of your body. These sensors monitor your
  body's physiological responses to stress such
  as teeth grinding and then feed the information
  back to you via auditory and visual cues (beeping
  sound or a flashing light). With this feedback,
  you'll start to associate teeth grinding or
  clenching with stress and learn to change your
  behavior.

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5)Medications.

• Medications aren't very effective for treatment
  of bruxism. Doctor may suggest taking a muscle
  relaxant before bedtime.
• If you develop bruxism as a side effect of an
  antidepressant medication, your doctor may change
  your medication or prescribe another medication
  to counteract your bruxism.
• Botulinum toxin (Botox) injections may help some
  people with severe bruxism that hasn't responded
  to other treatments.

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Self-care

• These self-care steps may prevent or help treat
  bruxism
• Limit alcohol, tobacco and caffeine.
• Reduce stress. Keeping your life stresses to a
  minimum
• Consult your sleep partner- ask him or her to be
  aware of any grinding or clicking sounds that you
  might make while sleeping.
• Have regular dental examinations.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

• CLINICAL PERIDONTOLOGY-CARRANZA
• TEXT BOOK OF ORAL PATHOLOGY-SHAFERSPURKAITNEVIL
  L
• TEXT BOOK OF ORAL MEDICINE-BURKETTE
• WWW.THEDENTALONLINE.COM

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Thats all.!!!!Wish u a stress free
life.

• THANK YOU!!!