Why Do Mouth Guards For Bruxism Work?
Written by admin on Friday, November 5th, 2010 in Bruxism.
When a person has bruxism it means that they involuntarily clench their jaw and grind their teeth when they are sleeping. Men, women and children of all ages can develop this condition. Often a person will not even realize that there is a problem at all until they wake up someone with their bruxism or otherwise have a person let them know they are grinding their teeth in their sleep. For instance a man sleeping in bed with his wife may not realize he is doing this in his sleep until his wife notices and tells him.
Although there is no known cause of bruxism doctors long ago made the correlation between the condition and stress and anxiety in one’s life. Therefore it is important for people to try and take breaks when they can and keep their levels of stress at a minimum. For anyone dealing with the condition it is important to talk to a doctor to get started with treatment. For treatment of bruxism doctors will often suggest the use of mouth guards for bruxism.
One of the most commonly relied on methods of treatment for bruxism is using a mouth guard to cover and protect the teeth throughout the night. That way when the person does end up grinding their teeth around at least they are not going to end up with chipped or broken teeth, as is usually the case otherwise. Mouth guards for bruxism are often used in combination with other treatments, for instance muscle relaxants. For instance a doctor may suggest a patient use a mouth guard alongside muscle relaxants.
This way the muscles in their jaw and face will be more relaxed at night when they are going to bed but they will also have that mouth guard in just in case. The mouth guard is there just in case and as a result they have the best form of prevention and protection overnight. Some people even need to have anti anxiety medications prescribed to them. Doctors may have a patient that is suffering from generalized or other anxiety disorder and wan to put them on medication to help ease their feeling of anxiety.
This is often enough to treat a bruxism condition. Doctors treat bruxism on a case to case basis. Each person is different and doctors will work with each patient on a case by case basis. Often time a person will end up dealing with the condition for their entire life even after their stress levels have been reduced.