Bruxism Symptoms
Surprisingly, it is not always the teeth that suffer when we clench and grind them. Often, we get symptoms that may appear unconnected. For example, many people wake up with a throbbing headache from teeth grinding during sleep. The forces involved in the act of clenching and grinding can put huge pressures on the muscles in the neck and shoulder, creating tension that is released when we wake up. It is this release of tension that can trigger muscle spasm and headaches.
Your pearly whites are most likely to suffer the brunt of night time and daytime bruxing. Anything from chipped teeth, loosening of fillings and damage to cosmetic dentistry work can be the result, often costing lots of time and money at the dental surgery to put right. If your are lucky enough to still have an NHS dentist, the typical costs are:
| Band 1 |
£16.50 including examination, diagnosis and preventative care. |
| Band 2 |
£45.00 including fillings, root canal treatment or extractions. |
| Band 3 |
£198.00 Including more complex procedures such as crowns, dentures or bridges. |
Private dentistry costs are typically many times higher than those shown in the table above.
If your sleep partner is a light sleeper, listening to you gnashing your teeth may cause them to lose sleep and eventually vacate the bedroom forever! Bruxers may find that a dental guard is the only way to reduce the noise and damage from night time grinding, but they can be costly and time consuming to fit.
Custom dental guards to protect teeth can cost from £20 to £700!
