Today, more than 60% of Spaniards suffer from bruxism in one form or another: daytime, nighttime or even both.
Therefore, we can say that bruxism is a widespread ailment in society and refers to the involuntary habit of clenching or grinding teeth. In some cases, bruxism can be mild and may not require treatment, however, it is often serious enough to cause complications.
What complications does bruxism cause?
One of its main complications is tooth wear, but it can also cause other dental issues such as cracks and breaks.
Bruxism can also cause jaw conditions, migraines and headaches that are difficult to treat without getting to the main cause: bruxism.
How to combat bruxism.
Stress is one of the common causes. So, learning how to reduce stress and even how to use relaxation and control techniques is one of the best possible treatments to help avoid this ailment.
One of the treatments that has proved to be most effective is Mindfulness. Mindfulness is a practice that helps to focus our attention on experiences occurring at that moment. We can learn how to be aware of how we move, how we feel and how we react in every situation.
Normally, only a small part of us pays attention to our daily activities, whilst our minds and thoughts are very much focused on other things. This could perhaps be referred to as “being on autopilot”, and we miss out on many aspects of our experience. By practising Mindfulness, we can learn how to be permanently responsive and aware of what we are doing at all times. This is why the practice is particularly advantageous when it comes to controlling bruxism and, consequently, avoiding tooth wear.
At Pronova Clinic, we also treat bruxism using a specially designed, made-to-measure occlusal splint, which enables us to avoid the consequences stemming from the issue.
This is suitable for treating bruxism itself; however, if you need to treat resulting complications, your dental specialist for bruxism can also help you with advanced aesthetic dentistry treatments.