What might cause you to grind your teeth?
Bruxism (or teeth grinding) is an abnormality where the person involved grinds his or her teeth. Bruxism occurs in most people, but is often mild, or occasional, and does not affect someone’s health. But when tooth grinding becomes more frequent or more severe, it may set off significant complications, leading to severe damage towards the jaws and teeth.
Research suggests that the most likely reason that causes bruxism is a bad occlusion (alignment) between the top and bottom jaws. When you close your mouth and the way your teeth touch causes stress to your facial muscles and your jaws, you will tend to unconsciously position your jaws in a place where your muscles will feel less stress. Therefore the teeth grinding.
Anxiety or stress is someone’s life is also thought to be one of the causes of bruxism. It is recommended to reduce the amount of caffeine intake to feel less stressed.
For people who suffer from bruxism at night, it is also thought that there is also a problem of sleep cycles.
The information above should be used as a reference only. Any medical decision should not be done before consulting a health care professional.