It is Never Too Late to Straighten Your Teeth

Did you just find out that you grind your teeth at night? While it may have been something that you were doing for years, no one told you about it until now, so you were completely unaware. If your partner has been hearing you clench your teeth and grind them in the middle of the night for quite some time, he or she may have told you about it out of pure concern. If you now know that this is happening, but you are not sure why, you need to make an appointment with your dentist to talk about it.

Why Does Tooth Grinding Happen?

People grind their teeth for many reasons. While grinding of the teeth can occur because a person is feeling anxious and dealing with a lot of stress in his or her life, it can also occur naturally when a person has teeth that are not properly aligned. While it is important to figure out the root cause of your problem with grinding your teeth, it is just as important to put a stop to it. If you continue grinding your teeth each day, you could eventually wear your teeth down, causing a lot of damage to both the teeth and the gums.

What Will the Dentist Do?

During your appointment with the dentist, make sure you talk about your teeth grinding and how you did not know you were doing it until your partner made you aware of it. The dentist can check your teeth to look for additional signs of teeth grinding, which may include weak or damaged teeth that are no longer in the best condition. Along with examining your teeth, the dentist may take molds of your mouth to have special mouth guards created. You would need to wear these mouth guards while you are sleeping to keep from grinding your teeth together. Because a mold is taken of the mouth, you can expect the mouth guard to feel completely comfortable when you are wearing it on top of your teeth at night.

It is not good to grind your teeth together at night because it can weaken them and eventually cause the teeth to break and fall out. If you know this is happening when you sleep, you need to see your dentist to talk about the problem. The dentist will need to look at your teeth, go over potential causes of the problem, and have a mouth guard made to fit perfectly over your teeth to keep them safe and protected while you sleep.