What Are the Health Risks of Teeth Clenching During Sleep?

Wondering if your teeth clenching is affecting your overall dental health? It could be. Also known as grinding your teeth, if you are clenching your teeth when your sleeping then it is going to have some effect on your dental health. It will directly depend on how often you clench your teeth, and the force used when your clenching when it comes to how exactly clenching your teeth is going to affect the overall health of your mouth. While the majority of dental patients who clench their teeth will do so when they are sleeping, it is not uncommon for people to clench their teeth during the day, too.

Reasons why people will clench their teeth

Even though there is no answer yet available for why exactly people will clench their teeth, the following are some of the more common reasons why people clench their teeth when sleeping.

Reason #1 – experiencing high levels of stress.

Reason #2 – experiencing high levels of anxiety.

Reason #3 – experiencing high levels of worrying.

Reason #4 – taking certain medications like anti-depressants.

Health risks of teeth clenching during sleep

Over time, the act of someone clenching their teeth is going to cause them problems eventually. These problems can lead to their experiencing a variety of health risks, including ongoing headaches, muscular pain, damaged teeth, sensitive teeth, gum recession and even being diagnosed with TMJ. One of the more significant health risks those who clench their teeth when sleeping may experience may be subject to is their heart health.

While it is not known for sure why people clench their teeth, two of the reasons believed to be the cause is stress and anxiety. When someone is under much pressure, it can cause them to release the tension in a variety of ways, including clenching his or her teeth when sleeping.

Do you clench your teeth when you are sleeping?

If you participate in teeth clenching or teeth grinding when you were sleeping and felt it is causing you problems with your mouth, then please call us as soon as you can so we can schedule you an appointment. You are going to need to find a solution to your clenching teeth when a sleeping problem or it will just continue to get worse. During the appointment, one of our caring dentists will evaluate your mouth so that they can offer you a one or more of the solutions available that can help end your teeth clenching. Ready to find a solution to your clenching teeth while sleeping problem? Hope to hear from you soon!

Call (978) 206-7077 today to reach Northside Dental Care, PC.

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