by April Wilson

Created on: November 25, 2009

Bruxism, what most people call teeth grinding, has two primary causes and generally occurs during sleep.

1. Stress or emotional causes

A lot of people hold tension in their jaw when they are feeling stressed or angry. Sometimes they clench or grind their teeth without realizing it. More commonly the stress and anger they are holding onto translates into their sleeping behavior and causes them to grind their teeth in their sleep this is especially true if they don't deal with the stress and anger productively in their waking hours.

If this is the case, you might try practicing yoga and meditation as part of an overall stress reduction program. (Other suggestions include plenty of sunlight, a multi-vitamin, a healthy diet, regular exercise such as walking, and being sure to get plenty of sleep.) A diet with more magnesium can also be beneficial. If you find yourself experiencing a lot of anger you may try an anger management class or finding someone to talk to to learn healthy ways to vent and deal with your anger so that it doesn't "process itself" during your sleeping hours with teeth grinding.

2. Misalignment of the teeth

Often an individual with bruxism has a problem with their bite. The way their teeth are set in their mouth causes some teeth to meet prematurely while others don't meet at all, or there is a misalignment creating a problem with the way all of the teeth on the top and bottom meet. Sometimes there is an overbite. These various bite issues (and others), can cause grinding in sleep as the teeth try to find a place to "sit" comfortably.

Visit an orthodontist or cosmetic dentist to find out if you've got a misaligned bite. If so, he or she might suggest orthodontic treatment such as metal braces or invisalign to solve the problem.

Other things to do to help Bruxism: A dental guard can be worn at night. This most likely won't stop or reduce teeth grinding, but it will protect your teeth while you're doing it. Sometimes a dental guard can create an "open bite" (where your teeth don't meet at all in certain places) which can make it hard to eat certain foods like spinach leaves.

You can also try lying on your back with your head elevated to prevent your jaw from wanting to clamp down. Of course you can't control how you move in your sleep, so if you're someone who changes positions a lot during sleep this suggestion might be of limited use to you.

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