Bruxism (teeth grinding) and sleep apnea

[roster]

Source: http://dentistryfordiabetics.com/blog/

July 8, 2008
Taking Control Of Your Health: Step Six (Continued) -
We noted in our post yesterday that sleep apnea, diabetes symptoms and gum disease can form a terrible triangle. One of the significant effects of obstructive sleep apnea on dental health is the fact that many people who have sleep apnea tend to grind their teeth in their sleep more than those who don’t have this condition. The medical term for this is sleep bruxism.

If it occurs frequently enough and severely enough, it can cause jaw problems, tooth damage and headache. Because it happens during sleep, many people aren’t even aware that it’s going on so it can be tough to diagnose before they begin to experience complications.

Symptoms include worn, flattened or chipped teeth, increased sensitivity in your teeth, pain or tightness in your jaw muscles, earache caused by the severe jaw muscle contractions, chronic pain in your face and damage to the tissue on the inside of your cheek. If you have any of these signs, talk with your dentist right away. Don’t be surprised if the diagnosis process starts pointing a finger towards sleep apnea.

There are a couple of other issues with sleep apnea that you ought to be aware of, and we’ll continue with that in tomorrow’s post.

Did you know that there is a closed loop between your dental health and your ability to successfully manage your blood sugar? For more diabetes information, get your free five-lesson mini-course on diabetes and your teeth at DentistryForDiabetics.com.

[tangents]

I can vouch for that. I know I was clenching my teeth before I got my machine, and it became a habit that I couldn't break even afterwards. So now I use a boil-n-bite mouthguard at night. It helps seal my mouth leaks, too.

Thanks for the post, Rooster,
Cathy

[Snoredog]

Stress can be a cause of it also.

My daughter said: Dad, before Dental school I never bruxed!! now I brux all the time!!

she is 27 and in excellent health, holds a Masters in Oral Biology and a Doctorate in Dentistry should I tell her she has OSA?

[tangents]

Maybe she inherited more from you than your suave and debonair personality!

[wlo2008]

I have done this all my life as well. Also had this sleep disorder sense I was little. Maybe I should talk to the doc about my kids. The both grind there teeth big time in their sleep. Drives me nuts.

[sharon1965]

jeez, who knew?

now i know i've had OSA most of my life, and i've always been a grinder...

thanks for the link, rooster

[roster]

Well I did not say about myself. Another case where the medical profession is sorry in my arrogant opinion:

I have always had a dental hygienist clean my teeth (and the rest of the family's) every six months. The dentist would come in after and do a visual of the teeth and gums. For several years the dentist would tell the hygienist to "make a note to keep a check on xxxxx". I assumed he was making notes about things that looked like they could develop into cavities.

Since he never had to fix a cavity, I finally asked him at one of the exams what he was always making notes about. He said, oh you have bruxism and are going to need some major repairs some day. Well the sweet old boy!!!!! After that I began to make mental notes and figured out I was not grinding my teeth while awake. However, there were some signs that it might be going on while asleep.

After I started cpap the signs of grinding during sleep stopped. I have told my sweet old boy dentist that he needs to have the Berlin questionairre administered to anyone who shows signs of bruxism!!

He could have saved me some years of pain and damage from osa!