Teeth Grinding Causes

Teeth grinding is a condition where the person involuntarily or subconsciously keeps rubbing his upper teeth against his lower teeth. This condition is of two types - where the person grinds his teeth only at night in his sleep, which is known as bruxism, or when a person grinds his teeth during the day when he is awake, as well as at night, in which case it is known as bruxomania. Dentists need to know that this is not merely excessive chewing but an actual habit that needs proper attention and care. Untreated cases of teeth grinding often lead to dire consequences, like loss of tooth structure, sensitive teeth symptoms, irreversible temporomandibular joint problems etc.

Stress
One of the most commonly implicated teeth grinding causes includes stress. When the body is subjected to constant stress, it often resorts to involuntary ways of relieving that stress, and teeth grinding is one such way. Stress leads to both, bruxism and bruxomania and is in fact one of the most common causes of teeth grinding at night.

Malocclusion
One of the most underrated cause is malocclusion. Malocclusion refers to any kind of misalignment in teeth which causes problems during occlusion of the upper and lower jaws. However, when diagnosing a patient with bruxism, many dentists overlook malocclusion as a possible cause, whereas malocclusion is one of the most common causes of teeth grinding in children. This is especially seen in children during the growing years (around nine to thirteen years of age). Although in some cases, the jaw may still be developing due to which the person, in an attempt to reach his normal occlusion position, may end up grinding teeth. There are also certain cases where this eventually turns into a habit even after cessation of jaw growth.

TMJ Disorders
Quite often, problems with the temporomandibular joint can also lead to teeth grinding. Temporomandibular joint is the joint between the skull and the mandible. Sometimes, when the person is suffering from temporomandibular joint disorders, he often tends to have problems with occlusion. This in turn leads to an inability to occlude the upper and lower jaws in a permanent position, which results in teeth grinding and pain. There may also be other problems plaguing the joint, like ankylosis, dislocated joint, poor bite alignment, trauma, hypermobility etc. Certain systemic and dental conditions may also lead to jaw problems, like osteoarthritis, central nervous system problems etc. In ankylosis, there is decreased mouth opening, which causes the teeth to occlude and often leads to teeth grinding in sleep.

Other Causes
There are many other causes. These include conditions affecting the jaw muscles, like when there is fibrosis of the masseter muscle, which leads to decreased mouth opening, as is seen in oral submucous fibrosis, and other such conditions brought about by chewing tobacco. Chronic teeth grinding may also result from constant pain in the ear region or disturbed sleep patterns. Certain people who have an aggressive personality have often been noticed to clench and grind their teeth and same goes for people who get angry or frustrated very easily. In some rare cases, certain medications can also have side effects of involuntary teeth grinding, as can certain systemic diseases like Parkinson's disease etc.

Thus, there are many different causes, but the treatment options for this condition are limited. Besides treating the exact cause behind teeth grinding, one has to also take certain preventive measures, like using a mouth guard etc. All said and done, this is a condition that is often taken very lightly when it actually deserves immediate attention before the damage done is irreversible.