Bruxism treatment

A variety of events can serve as a trigger for the disease: stress, mental tension, hypothermia, tooth extraction, and other dental interventions.

Spasm of the chewing muscles leads to too much closure of the jaws, especially at night. As the teeth move, they wear out faster.

One of the rules of the body - the mouth should always be closed. This is provided at the reflex level. And if, with a normal height of the teeth, a certain effort was necessary to close the mouth, then with a decrease in the height of the teeth, the effort should be greater. The masticatory muscle is even more reduced and shortened, more pulling the lower jaw to the upper.
The process goes in circles: the teeth wear out, the jaw pulls in more, the teeth wear out more, and so on.

First of all, the height of the dentition and the height of the bite change. Secondly, the functionality of the teeth decreases: the incisors become less sharp, and the chewing teeth are less prominent. Chewing function is impaired. A person is forced to chew differently, often without even noticing it.
Supercontacts appear - an excessive load on certain parts of the teeth, which leads to deformation of the teeth, the appearance of wedge-shaped defects, chips, and loss of fillings.
Erasure itself leads to thinning of the enamel, exposure of dentin, and increased sensitivity of the teeth.

Following the change in chewing function, the temporomandibular joints begin to suffer. Changing the load on the jaw joints leads to a change in their work. There may be a creak, crunch, pain in the joint. There may be a restriction when opening the mouth, staggering or asymmetry when opening the mouth.
An external sign of dysfunction is the asymmetry of the face, which occurs due to the asymmetrical tone of the muscles of the face (drooping corner of the mouth, eyes, wrinkles are more pronounced on one side).

Often the opposite happens: first, TMJ dysfunction (TMD) occurs, which causes spasm of the masticatory muscles and the onset of bruxism.

Due to spasm, the masticatory muscles greatly increase in volume, giving the face a more square shape. The lower part of the face becomes more massive.
Spasms of the muscles of the face lead to the appearance of wrinkles / creases. Reducing the height of the bite - to stretching the chin.

Everything in the body is connected. One problem causes another. With each new round, the situation is getting worse and worse. Often a person does not associate problems with bruxism and cannot understand why the teeth deteriorate, the headache, hurt neck, etc.

At the consultation, the doctor, according to the symptoms and condition of the masticatory muscles, will confirm or refute the presence of bruxism. One of the tasks is to determine the cause of the disease (stress, loss of teeth, trauma, etc.). Identifying the underlying cause is important to address it and prevent relapses.
At the consultation, the dentist will talk in detail about the current state of the problem and possible treatment options.

Diagnosis includes additional studies.

Bruxism requires a 3D scan of the teeth. With its help, we obtain a digital impression of the teeth and make an individual protective cap.
In addition, a digital impression gives a lot of information about the current state of the teeth: the presence of wear, supercontacts, the state and height of the bite, etc.

Diagnosis of the TMJ and facial muscles allows you to determine which muscles are spasmodic, where there is an uneven tone. The condition of the jaw joints is also checked, the presence / absence of TMJ dysfunction is determined. Thus, we find out how far the problem has advanced, whether the jaw joints are affected.

Additionally, periodontal screening and diagnosis of therapeutic problems (caries, pulpitis, periodontitis, etc.) are carried out. This information is necessary to draw up a correct treatment plan.

A protective cap prevents further wear of the teeth. The cap is made individually based on a digital impression of the teeth. Production time - 1 day.
The cap is worn at night to protect the teeth during sleep when the person has no control over the clenching of the jaws.
If the patient is ready to start treatment, a medical cap is made. Its purpose is not only to protect the teeth, but also to relax the muscles, increase the height of the bite and disengage the jaw joints. These tasks are part of the healing process.

If the patient is not ready to be treated in the near future, only a protective cap is made to stop further tooth wear.

To choose the optimal tactics for the treatment and elimination of the consequences of bruxism, we hold a consultation. Several doctors of the clinic participate in the consultation, which allows taking into account the opinion of several specialists at once. The consultation and presentation are included in the cost of digital diagnostics. This procedure is the standard of our clinic.

Bruxism is caused by spasm of the masticatory muscles. Therefore, first of all, we work with muscles and ligaments, relieve spasms and restore muscle tone.

It must be understood that there is a high probability of repeated muscle spasm until the cause of the disease is eliminated. If the cause is the absence of a tooth / teeth or malocclusion, these problems should be eliminated.

If, as a result of bruxism, the height of the teeth is reduced due to wear, it is necessary to restore the height of the teeth with the help of prosthetics (onlays, crowns).

If necessary, work is carried out to restore the bite. This stage may include:
- restoration of lost teeth (installation of bridges, prostheses, implants);
- grinding of fillings and restorations, elimination of supercontacts;
- restoration of bite height with the help of crowns;
- orthodontic treatment.