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Clenching In Aldershot

With daily stresses and pressures loading on top of us, its not surprising that the amount of tooth damage caused by clenching and grinding our teeth is increasing.  Clenching and grinding is collectively known as ‘bruxing’.   A lot of people aren’t even aware that they are doing it and many aren’t aware they are bruxing at night.

Do you wake in the morning with a sore tense jaw or head? You might be a secret bruxer.  Stress and fracture lines will appear on the tooth’s surface, and can cause ‘abfraction cavities’, something not many people are aware of.  These abfraction cavities are found just above the gum line on the teeth, and can be identified by running your nail along the tooth’s surface.  It should feel flush and smooth, but if it feels like there is a notch of groove there, you may have an abfraction cavity.   As you grind your teeth, it’s causing the enamel along the gum line to chip away as the enamel is much thinner around this area leaving the tooth exposed to sensitivity and decay.

Abfraction cavities can be fixed in one session in the dentist’s chair with composite bonding fillings, but what about the long term effects?  The good news is there is a solution.   At Time Dental you can have a handcrafted bite guard made especially for your mouth. There are 2 kinds, soft and hard, and they work by deprogramming your jaw and stop the clenching or grinding action.  These are mainly worn at night, but can also be worn in the day if you are aware of daytime bruxing. 

So if you feel that your teeth are suffering with the effects of a stressful lifestyle or a bad grinding habit, come and pay us a visit and see what we can do for you!

Call 01252 723 008