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Diagnoses

Bruxism

About this diagnosis

Diagnoses are associated with common findings which are used to prescribe appropriate treatment.

Alternate terms: Bite stress; Clenching; Tooth grinding.

Bruxism is a chronic habit of clenching or grinding the teeth. Its significance lies in the potential damage the habit can cause to all three elements of the body's "stomatognathic system" (i.e. the teeth, jaw muscles, and jaw joints).

Bite collapse due to aggressive bruxism habit

Figure 1: Bruxism led to the loss of nearly 50% of this patient's visible tooth structure.

Severe attrition like that shown in Figure 1 can be a serious problem, and extremely costly to treat. If all the teeth are involved, the jaws rotate together more than they should. This is known as "bite collapse", or loss of "vertical dimension of occlusion."
Learn more: Diagnoses › Loss of vertical dimension of occlusion

Bite collapse can result in damage to the jaw joints; severe pain or dysfunction in the jaw joints (temporomandibular dysfunction, or TMD); excessive muscle contraction forces as the closing muscles of the jaw shorten (which can accelerate the destruction); tooth fractures, and tooth loss; aggravation of periodontal disease ("secondary occlusal trauma"); shortening of the lower face height (which changes one's appearance); an inverted smile (corners of the mouth sag); frequent cracking or chapping at the corners of the mouth ("angular cheilitis"); and problems chewing.
Learn more: Diagnoses › Temporomandibular joint dysfunction

Other Causes of Tooth Wear

Bruxing isn't the only cause of tooth wear. Here are a couple other common sources:

  • Teeth that don't mesh properly can wear at an accelerated rate, even under normal function. If you have this problem (known as "malocclusion" in dental terms), ask your dentist if orthodontic treatment might be an option.
    Learn more: Diagnoses › Malocclusion
  • Factitious habits: Repeatedly chewing on hard or abrasive objects, biting your nails, grinding sunflower seed husks and other habits like these can accelerate the formation of wear facets (flattened planes) and chips on your teeth. An occlusal guard won't help with this, but you may need the chipped or worn teeth repaired with bonding, fillings, or crowns. And you should try to quit the habit to avoid re-occurrence.
    Learn more: Diagnoses › Factitious habits