How to treat teeth grinding when sleeping at night

In life, we will unconsciously develop our own living habits, and of course our living habits are also influenced by the people around us. But some habits are not what we want, but they do exist. It's not easy to change some habits by yourself. Sometimes we just can't control ourselves and continue living the same way. Of course, some habits emerge because of illness.

For example, some people grind their teeth when they sleep at night. What should we do? Although people cannot feel what is happening in the outside world when they are in deep sleep. But if you don’t sleep alone but live in a dormitory, then more than one person will definitely hear the sound of your teeth grinding. So let's see how to treat teeth grinding.

Teeth grinding while sleeping is caused by abnormal excitement of some brain cells in the cerebral cortex and jaw operation area of ​​the central nervous system, which leads to dysfunction of the trigeminal nerve. The trigeminal nerve innervates the masticatory muscles, which causes strong and continuous non-functional contraction and causes the teeth to make chewing movements with a rattling sound. Bruxism refers to the habit of grinding teeth during sleep or unconsciously during the day.

It gets worse little by little over time. It is a long-term vicious cycle disease. It is generally divided into 3 types:

① Teeth grinding type: Teeth grinding often occurs after falling asleep at night, which is often called nocturnal bruxism. Patients grind their teeth or clench their teeth during sleep. Since the teeth grinding is often accompanied by a "crunching" sound, it is also commonly called "grinding teeth". Because it often occurs during sleep at night, it is also called "nocturnal bruxism".

The patients themselves are usually unaware of the condition and are often told by others. Because of the impact on others, especially spouses, it is taken more seriously.

② Clenching type: People often clench their teeth unconsciously when concentrating during the day, but there is no grinding of the upper and lower teeth

③Mixed type: Both nocturnal bruxism and daytime clenching of teeth.

Treatment

There are many treatments for bruxism, and the main clinical purpose is to reduce the damage caused by bruxism to the occlusal surface of the teeth and alleviate the symptoms of muscles and joints. The principle is to block the cause of the disease and reduce the damage.

1) Psychological treatment: There are indeed psychological factors that cause excessive tension in the jaw muscles. Eliminate tension, relieve unnecessary worries, and arrange work reasonably. If necessary, take diazepam tablets orally, 1-2 times a day, one tablet each time. There is dependency.

2) Treatment to reduce brain excitement: Resting and relaxing before going to bed, doing proper gymnastics, avoiding stimulating foods and smoking, and improving the sleeping environment are all helpful in reducing the brain's excitement. Mobilize the patient's self-awareness and self-control psychological effect to reduce the occurrence of bruxism. The effect is very small.

3) Muscle relaxation therapy: Excessive tension in the jaw muscles is one of the causes of bruxism. Relieving excessive muscle tension during treatment is a necessary means to control bruxism. Commonly used methods include: the use of muscle relaxants; physical therapy, training of the physiological functions of the masticatory muscles; massage; audio-visual cues and other methods. The effect is very small.

4) Treatment with awakening stimulation during sleep: Through biofeedback, the patient is awakened by electrical signals such as sound when bruxism occurs, thereby temporarily stopping bruxism. Some researchers have performed temporary afferent electrical stimulation on the lips, and the results showed that it was effective in controlling bruxism. However, this method interferes with the sleep of patients and their cohabitants and is not effective in the long term.

5 ) Occlusal adjustment treatment: By grinding a small amount of tooth tissue, removing occlusal interference and premature occlusal contact, and establishing an occlusal balance relationship, a physiological balance between the jaw, masticatory muscles, and temporomandibular joint can be achieved, and bruxism can be eliminated. For patients with malocclusion, orthodontics or restoration are performed first. Then take Muyating capsules to regulate the nerves and eliminate bruxism.

The above analyzes several types of teeth grinding and solutions. I hope it will be helpful to everyone. Although teeth grinding is a relatively small matter, maybe we just need to be tolerant of each other. However, bruxism is indeed a disease. If it is not treated, it may cause greater impact on the body in the future. Therefore, it is recommended that you go to the hospital for examination if you have bruxism at night.