Bruxism or the grinding of the teeth either while awake or in sleep, is quite a common problem in children as well as adults.
While the causes may range from stress to genetics to medication to malocclusion, it has been found that anywhere from 8% to 31% of the population suffers from this condition.
When Traditional Approaches Fail Traditional treatment for bruxism includes several approaches, as outlined below: 1.
Guards and splints: This type of treatment involves the use of occlusal splints to reduce tooth wear for sufferers of sleep bruxism.
However, there is no overwhelming evidence that it is indeed an effective solution for chronic patients.
2.
Psychosocial methods: This type of treatment uses stress-relief therapy to effect a reduction in teeth-grinding.
Muscular relaxation, behavioral therapy and even hypnotherapy have been known to be used to treat bruxism.
Again, no conclusive evidence suggests that any of these approaches is a cure-all for this condition.
3.
Botox: Though Botox has been used extensively in the field of cosmetology, some medical practitioners believe that the ability of the diluted toxin to induce partial muscle paralysis helps by disallowing the sufferer to be able to firmly clench their teeth while awake or asleep.
This, in turn, reduces the grinding because the muscles are unable to force the teeth to gain enough traction against each other to wear them out quickly.
4.
Medication: Apart from Botox, several other muscle relaxants, beta blockers, antidepressants, etc.
have been used to treat bruxism.
However, none of these have shown to be conclusively effective in its treatment.
What are the New Options? Bruxism treatment is the subject of heated debate when it comes to effectively treating the condition.
A new wave of treatments, however, is making its presence known in the bruxism community, and here are a few of them: 1.
Physiotherapy: This emerging treatment focuses on teaching the patient to regain normal muscle action in the temporal and mandibular regions of the head.
The ability to do this certainly helps in awake bruxism, but it's inherent voluntary nature makes it a non-viable treatment for sleep bruxism.
2.
GrindCare: A relatively new product called GrindCare is a device that is not only used to treat the condition, but also to assess its severity in absolute numbers.
It allows the user to see how many times they grind their teeth in a given time period, and gradually enables them to reduce the grinding that often leads to poor sleep patterns.
3.
Nasal clips: Although this solution has no scientific basis, some sufferers say that using swimming clips forces them to breathe through the mouth, thereby subconsciously preventing the teeth from being able to clench down against each other for long periods.
4.
MADs: Mandibular Advancement Devices are primarily used to treat sleep apnea, or snoring; however, recent studies have shown these devices to be far more effective than occlusal splints.
However, the pain caused by these devices is thought to be one of the reasons for bruxism reduction, thereby negating their effectiveness as a viable solution for the condition.
The war against this global phenomenon is still on, and many studies are underway to find newer treatments for bruxism.
For now, however, no single solution can claim to be a "cure" for this condition, and sufferers will just have to manage the problem in any way that is convenient for them.
It is better to talk with a dental profiessional first.
While the causes may range from stress to genetics to medication to malocclusion, it has been found that anywhere from 8% to 31% of the population suffers from this condition.
When Traditional Approaches Fail Traditional treatment for bruxism includes several approaches, as outlined below: 1.
Guards and splints: This type of treatment involves the use of occlusal splints to reduce tooth wear for sufferers of sleep bruxism.
However, there is no overwhelming evidence that it is indeed an effective solution for chronic patients.
2.
Psychosocial methods: This type of treatment uses stress-relief therapy to effect a reduction in teeth-grinding.
Muscular relaxation, behavioral therapy and even hypnotherapy have been known to be used to treat bruxism.
Again, no conclusive evidence suggests that any of these approaches is a cure-all for this condition.
3.
Botox: Though Botox has been used extensively in the field of cosmetology, some medical practitioners believe that the ability of the diluted toxin to induce partial muscle paralysis helps by disallowing the sufferer to be able to firmly clench their teeth while awake or asleep.
This, in turn, reduces the grinding because the muscles are unable to force the teeth to gain enough traction against each other to wear them out quickly.
4.
Medication: Apart from Botox, several other muscle relaxants, beta blockers, antidepressants, etc.
have been used to treat bruxism.
However, none of these have shown to be conclusively effective in its treatment.
What are the New Options? Bruxism treatment is the subject of heated debate when it comes to effectively treating the condition.
A new wave of treatments, however, is making its presence known in the bruxism community, and here are a few of them: 1.
Physiotherapy: This emerging treatment focuses on teaching the patient to regain normal muscle action in the temporal and mandibular regions of the head.
The ability to do this certainly helps in awake bruxism, but it's inherent voluntary nature makes it a non-viable treatment for sleep bruxism.
2.
GrindCare: A relatively new product called GrindCare is a device that is not only used to treat the condition, but also to assess its severity in absolute numbers.
It allows the user to see how many times they grind their teeth in a given time period, and gradually enables them to reduce the grinding that often leads to poor sleep patterns.
3.
Nasal clips: Although this solution has no scientific basis, some sufferers say that using swimming clips forces them to breathe through the mouth, thereby subconsciously preventing the teeth from being able to clench down against each other for long periods.
4.
MADs: Mandibular Advancement Devices are primarily used to treat sleep apnea, or snoring; however, recent studies have shown these devices to be far more effective than occlusal splints.
However, the pain caused by these devices is thought to be one of the reasons for bruxism reduction, thereby negating their effectiveness as a viable solution for the condition.
The war against this global phenomenon is still on, and many studies are underway to find newer treatments for bruxism.
For now, however, no single solution can claim to be a "cure" for this condition, and sufferers will just have to manage the problem in any way that is convenient for them.
It is better to talk with a dental profiessional first.
SHARE
