Your healthy, natural teeth are the strongest parts of your body, but that strength can sometimes be compromised by a variety of factors. For some patients, one of these factors includes the constant grinding of their teeth, which indicates a condition known as bruxism. When you have bruxism, the grinding of your teeth is more than just an occasional occurrence, and the frequency of it can lead to a wide range of serious concerns for your teeth and oral health.
The friction wears down their surfaces
When you grind your teeth because of bruxism, you don’t always realize how often it occurs. Because you aren’t aware of it, you can’t control the force or pressure of the grinding, and the full force of your bite can generate an enormous amount of friction against your teeth’s chewing surfaces. The constant and consistent friction can begin to wear down your teeth’s chewing surfaces before long, causing changes in how your they feel when you bite down. This can also make your teeth increasingly more sensitive, as well as more vulnerable to experiencing significant damage to their main structures.
They become more likely to break
The pressure and friction from grinding your teeth can lead to significant wear on their chewing surfaces, but that isn’t the only form of damage that bruxism may cause. When your teeth become worn down, they also become structurally weaker and less able to sustain the full pressure of your bite. This can place one or more of your teeth at a higher risk of developing fractures or breaks in their structures, which could require more significant restorative dental treatment to address in addition to your bruxism treatment.
They can be lost due to combined factors
The combination of weakened or damaged structures and the continued force of grinding your teeth subconsciously can make bruxism a significant threat to your oral health the longer it’s left untreated. While most cases of tooth damage can be addressed with custom restorative treatment, the grinding of your teeth can accelerate the progression of damage to their structures. This means a seemingly minor fracture can become much more significant before you realize it, and teeth that are damaged by bruxism can be a higher risk of being lost or needing extraction.
Learn how to stop grinding your teeth
If you grind your teeth often, then you may benefit from a custom bruxism appliance to help prevent your teeth from damaging each other. To learn more, or to schedule a consultation, call Cedar Dental in Cedar Rapids, IA, today at (319) 364-7108.
Recent Comments