Biting Teeth in Sleep - The Not So Obvious Solution

Are you or someone you know suffering from biting teeth in sleep? Have you been losing sleep because the person next to you grits their teeth? Or maybe sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of you gritting your teeth.

Biting teeth in sleep may not be a major health issue but it can cause conditions like broken dentures, missing teeth, as well as face, mouth and jaw problems. For such cases to be addressed properly, it is very important to visit your dentist so you can prevent any more problems that may develop in the future.

This condition, which is also known as sleep bruxism, although believed by doctors to be caused mostly by stress, can be common in children too. Although parents may find this disturbing, they can outgrow the habit of gritting teeth while sleeping. However, this being the case, you should still have a dentist take a look at your child's teeth. A common cause of gritting teeth is the misalignment of teeth with each other. For children, their baby teeth will be replaced by the permanent ones eventually so their teeth should become more aligned by then. Hence, their teeth gritting habits will soon disappear. For adults though, since their teeth are already permanent, there's not much to do to change them. There are however a few not so obvious remedies for controlling teeth biting while you sleep.

For misaligned teeth, your dentist may prescribe the use of splints, mouth guards and other similar dental devices that can be worn at night. There are mouth guards you can get over the counter but be careful when choosing this option. Sometimes they might not fit well and there's a possibility that for it to dislodge. So it's advisable to have your dentist customize one for you. Although it doesn't cure teeth biting, it reduces any further damage to your teeth. You can also ask your dentist to have your "high spots" filed down. These are the teeth that interfere with an aligned bite.

There is an exercise you can do that can help reduce biting teeth in sleep. Some people who suffer from this condition practice clenching their teeth hard for several seconds at least three times a day. This helps your muscles get used to the feeling of being relaxed. You can also use a warm, damp cloth on your face before going to bed. Put the cloth on your face for at least 10 minutes to help relax the jaw muscles. Other relaxation techniques you can try before going to bed are meditating, stretching and taking a hot bath. It can also help if you reduce your alcohol and coffee consumption.

Other procedures can include dental surgeries and behavior therapy. Surgery can be performed to reconstruct or reshape one's teeth should you have difficulty in chewing food, but can not guarantee that teeth biting will stop altogether. Behavior therapy is basically a series of therapy sessions that concentrates on tongue practices and proper jaw and mouth positioning. For more severe cases, you might need regular medication like muscle relaxants to treat teeth biting. No matter how minor your condition may be, it is still best to consult a physician for the most effective course of action for you.