Have you ever gone to sleep and awakened with jaw pain the following day?

Does your partner tell you that you grind your teeth at night?

Are your teeth hurting and chipping for no apparent reason?

Well, let's talk about this for a minute. Night-time grinding is so prevalent. Both adults and children are affected by this widespread problem.

Some ask what causes this. I tell patients that most of the time, it's caused by an overactive brain while you're sleeping. Most of us have a hard time turning off our brains while sleeping. Between every electronic device, stress, overactive imagination, and other stimuli, we are just overthinking while we sleep.

I'm often asked how to prevent this time by frustrated parents and partners who can't sleep while their loved ones grind away.

For kids, the best treatment is reducing the number of stimuli as they get closer to bedtime. I recommend turning off electronic devices and televisions around 1-2 hours before bedtime. Also, developing a calming routine at rest will help most kids turn off their brains sufficiently.

This can consist of a relaxing bubble bath, some hot tea, reading a calming book, and just doing anything that would typically calm your child down. The same practice applies to adults. Calming routines and turning off external stimuli help tremendously with grinding at night. However, if you cannot seem to calm down, we can always fabricate an occlusal guard for you.

This is beneficial when the grinding has begun to wear away the tips of your teeth and if you have dental work, such as crowns and bridges, that we are trying to maintain for a long time. Night grinding affects many things —muscles, bone, and restorations.

You can successfully conquer this obstacle with the help of an occlusal guard and other therapies.

Wake up refreshed and put some love on your teeth in the morning!