Bruxism

In dentistry, bruxism refers to all non-functional tooth contacts such as grinding and pressing. There’s a difference between awake and sleep bruxism, both of which have different causes. In the long run, bruxism leads to attrition of tooth substance which can be detected by typical, usually high-gloss grinding facets. Occasional bruxism is normal and not alarming. In contrast, pronounced bruxism leads to massive loss of tooth substance and may also play a role in the development and maintenance of pain in the chewing muscles. While awake bruxism may be influenced by specifically training the direction of attention or changing ones behavior, there is no causal therapy for sleep bruxism. But a symptomatic treatment with a bite splint is possible. Eventually, with an anterior occlusal splint allowing only front teeth to come into contact..