S. John Salivonchik's Blog

Grinding or Clenching is a common dental issue.  Some cases maybe more serious than others.  If somesone has wear on their teeth chances are they are grinding or clenching.  Most of these people grind or clench at night while sleeping, which may lead to sore muscles and jaw pain in the morning.  Others may grind or clench during the day, often as a result of stress.  More serious complications of grinding and clenching are root fractures or  breaking or weakening of the emamel or porcelain veneers.  Over a lifetime a person mormally loses less than 1mm of emamel; but someone who grinds can wear away 1mm of emamel in a year.  To prevent furthur damage to your teeth, we recommend a nightguard. A nightguard is a hard piece of acrylic  which goes over the teeth while grinding or clenching at night.  These need to be made by a dentist to not only fit the teeth,but to fit the bite, otherwise additonal complications can occur.