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Do You Wake Up With A Sore Mouth/Jaw?

20-07-2022

Although most of teeth grinding happens at night, when you’re not even aware you’re doing it, the symptoms are present during the day.

Symptoms can include:

• Jaw ache,
• Neck pain,
• Headaches, especially in the morning,
• Pain behind your eyes or in the sinus area,
• Difficulty or pain opening your mouth, speaking and/or eating
• Increased teeth sensitivity

What Can You Do?

If you experience any of the above symptoms it’s best to get checked out by your dentist.

In the meantime, here are some self-help measures you can take to ease the pain:

• Eat a soft diet to reduce the strain on your teeth and jaws (opt for soft foods that are easy to chew or that can be chopped, ground, mashed and pureed)
• Apply heat to the area by using a wheat bag heat pack or warmed gloves
• Massage the area
• Take a course of over-the-counter pain relief medication such as ibuprofen or paracetamol
• Although difficult, try to de-stress as stress is a leading cause of bruxism

Why Should You See A Dentist To Treat This?

Simply managing the symptoms won’t solve the underlying problem. Bruxism can lead to serious dental health issues such as worn or broken teeth requiring fillings or crowns, loose teeth (and even tooth loss), as well as further pain and discomfort that might not be as easily remedied.

What Will We Do?

To help stop you grinding your teeth we can consider pain-free, non-invasive treatment, during a dental consultation.

• We will check your jaw joint, teeth and muscles.
• We can create a mouth guard to be worn at night.
• We will recommend an orthodontic solution if required.
• We can discuss any sources of stress that might be causing the bruxism and make recommendations to help you reduce anxiety.

Being told you’re a teeth grinder is often a surprise but it needn’t be a bad one.

After all, it’s relatively easy to remedy, so if you have any doubts why not come in and let us check you out?