Bruxism

Bruxism is when you clench or grind your teeth. The term clenching means you tightly clamp your top and bottom teeth together, especially the back teeth. The stressful force of clenching causes pressure on the muscles, tissues, and other structures around your jaw. This can lead to jaw joint disorders, jaw pain and soreness, headaches, earaches, damaged teeth, and other problems

symptoms

• Severe or loud teeth grinding or clenching, that occurs during sleep or while awake during times of anxiety or stress
• Teeth grinding or clenching Tips of teeth that are worn down, flattened or chipped. enamel loss from the chewing surfaces of teeth; flattened tooth surfaces; loosened teeth; and fractured teeth and fillings. Increased tooth sensitivity
• causes tempromandibular joint syndrome (TMJ), in which the cartilage around the joints of the upper and lower jaws becomes irritated. This irritation can cause pain in the jaw and ears.
• Jaw pain or tightness in your jaw muscles
• Earache — because of violent jaw muscle contractions, not a problem with your ear
• Dull morning headache, sore and tired facial muscles, earaches, sensitive teeth, and locking, popping, and clicking of the jaw. Chewed tissue on the inside of your cheek.

causes

• Suppressed anger or frustration
• Aggressive, competitive or hyperactive personality type
• Anxiety, stress or tension
• Children with bruxism usually stop grinding their teeth before adulthood. 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.