Treatment of Nighttime Teeth Grinding and Clenching

Surprisingly, 1 in 2 or 3 people clench or grind their teeth during sleep. What’s more concerning is that most are unaware of it, since bruxism occurs unconsciously while sleeping. This makes identifying the true cause of related symptoms quite difficult.

You may suffer from nighttime bruxism if you experience the following:

• Flattened or chipped edges of the front teeth when looking in the mirror
• Advanced wear on the chewing surfaces of back teeth
• Difficulty falling or staying asleep
• Feeling tired even after 8–9 hours of sleep
• Unexplained tooth pain
• Frequent morning headaches, jaw or neck pain
• Back, neck, or shoulder discomfort
• Sinus pain or ringing in the ears of unknown origin

The most common cause of this widespread issue is stress, emotional strain, or internal tension. However, certain dental problems can also contribute to it – such as a misaligned tooth, an impacted wisdom tooth hidden in the jawbone, a poorly positioned jaw, or dental work that’s too high, like a filling, crown, or denture. Of course, managing daily stress isn’t something a dental clinic can directly offer – but the good news is, there is an effective solution for this uncomfortable problem.

In addition to the unpleasant symptoms, teeth grinding can produce surprisingly loud sounds due to the immense, uncontrolled pressure exerted on the teeth during sleep. In fact, the force on the tooth surfaces can reach up to 40 kilograms. Unfortunately, this means that prolonged clenching and grinding can lead to serious dental damage: your teeth may wear down, develop cracks, or even become loose. In many cases, patients only become aware of the problem when a tooth or a dental restoration breaks, a porcelain crown chips, or a filling falls out. Sadly, the damage doesn’t stop there – the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and even the spinal vertebrae can suffer from the effects of this harmful and unconscious habit.

When looking in the mirror, you may notice that the tips of your front teeth are worn down or chipped. In more severe cases, wear may also appear on the chewing surfaces of the teeth. Other possible symptoms include:

• restless, poor-quality sleep,
• waking up tired even after 8–9 hours of sleep, 
• toothache without any apparent reason,
• frequent jaw or tooth pain upon waking,
• neck, back, or shoulder pain despite using a good pillow,
• unexplained sinus pain,
• ringing in the ears (tinnitus).

In most cases, wearing the bite splint is only required during the night, while sleeping. However, in extreme cases of bruxism, daytime use may be recommended as well. Additionally, in cases of dental restorations, such as crowns or bridges, it is advised to wear the splint not only at night but also during sports activities to protect the dental work.

Nighttime teeth grinding and clenching may be caused by stress and internal tension, as well as by improper functioning of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and certain bite disorders. In many cases, an overly high dental filling, inlay, bridge, crown, or prosthesis may also contribute to the problem.

Therefore, alongside the correct use of the bite splint and stress reduction, in some cases, additional treatments may be necessary to achieve complete success, such as dental restorations, orthodontics, aesthetic fillings, or other corrective procedures.