Don’t underestimate teeth grinding, what are its dangers?

Many people do not take teeth grinding seriously. In fact, it can cause many harms. It can easily cause frequent bleeding and inflammation of the gums, loose teeth, and in severe cases, it can also cause symptoms such as headaches and cramps in the neck and back.

1. Medical experts point out that bruxism causes the teeth to knock against each other strongly without any food to relieve the pain, which causes excessive wear of the protective material on the surface of the teeth, exposing the dentin underneath the protective material. In mild cases, the patient may be allergic to stimulating foods such as cold, hot, sour, and sweet; in severe cases, the condition may lead to frequent bleeding and inflammation of the gums, loose teeth, and even tooth loss.

2. In addition, long-term nocturnal bruxism may cause a series of complications. For example, it causes the masticatory muscles to not get rest, resulting in fatigue and pain in the masticatory muscles and cheek pain; in severe cases, it causes headaches, cramps in the neck and back, etc. It also leads to decreased sleep quality, memory loss, bad breath or bad odor in the mouth, damage to hearing and taste, and some patients with severe bruxism will have an asymmetrical face (usually one side of the face is large and the other side is small), leading to psychological depression, pessimism and even suicide and other terrible consequences. Many severe patients also have gastrointestinal disorders, constipation, decreased sleep quality, fatigue, lack of energy, lack of interest in things, etc., especially because of bruxism, which affects sleep quality and makes it easier to get tired during work and study during the day, so it must be taken seriously.

3. Long-term bruxism will cause extensive loss of tooth tissue, destroy the tooth shape, and make the edges sharp, which can often injure the lips, cheeks, and tongue soft tissues. The lower 1/3 of the face will become old, affecting the patient's facial beauty and pronunciation. Frequent bleeding and inflammation of the gums can lead to loose and falling teeth. Tooth wear can cause allergies and pain when exposed to cold, heat, or sourness. Pain in the cheeks and sides of the ears can damage hearing. Muscle soreness and stiffness in the head and neck can lead to recurrent headaches. Biting the cheeks, gums, cracked teeth, and tongue can affect the local physical development and mental health of adolescents. The squeaking sound of teeth grinding can affect the rest of loved ones. In addition, if a child grinds his teeth, it will affect his growth and development, causing him to be picky about food, resulting in nutritional imbalance, short stature, and thinness. Moreover, when a child's teeth are still developing, teeth grinding will also destroy the beauty of the child's teeth, so parents must pay special attention to it.