What Is Daytime Bruxism And How Does It Affect You?
Bruxism is a condition where a person unconsciously grins and clenches their jaw. Bruxism is one of those conditions that people don’t think about too often. Then, they’re in undeniable pain and don’t know what’s happening to them. There are two main types of bruxisms: Sleep bruxism and daytime bruxism. Often daytime Bruxism is also referred to as wake bruxism as the clenching of your teeth happens unconsciously but when you continue to be awake.
Daytime Bruxism is not always easy to identify, especially when you’re anxious and like grinding your teeth. For most people, their discovery of the condition comes due to the pain that they encounter after several days of having the condition.
What is Daytime Bruxism?
It may not seem such a problem, but daytime bruxism often concerns other major issues. Some people use daytime Bruxism to cope with the stress they feel throughout the day actively. There are atleast 31% of people in the US may be dealing with this condition. A large portion of this category is children who grind their teeth as they come in.
We can state that daytime bruxism happens during the day, and people will note that their symptoms worsen as we progress.
Why Are You Undergoing Daytime Bruxism?
There are simple reasons that you may be facing daytime bruxism. Many people believe that if they want to, they can just stop daytime bruxism on their own, and we think that awareness is the first step to prevention. However, daytime bruxism is mostly more about deep-seated issues that require further probing.
Possible reasons that you may be dealing with daytime bruxism include the following:
Stress
It’s no secret that we live in times where we’re more wired into the daily stresses that life often comes with. We remain so connected to stress because we are constantly bombarded with information on social media. If we consider how much the world has changed since the pandemic of 2019, then one of the worst and best fallouts has been the constant connection to the world.
Daytime Bruxism is also closely linked to jobs with high-stress levels, such as the police and the military. People who have been in any kind of post-traumatic stress also use daytime bruxism to bite down on their teeth and harm their teeth.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a stress disorder that may occur because people overthink what they’re going through. For many people, an anxiety disorder can lead to full-blown panic attacks, which occur when your brain works you into a frenzy. One of the most common ways to calm yourself down is to clench your jaw. However, that leads ot much daytime bruxism.
Misaligned Bite
If you don’t have a proper bite, you may notice that clenching your teeth is relatively easy. For missing, crooked teeth that are misaligned, a person is much more likely to fill the gaps by clenching and grinding teeth when awake.
Stimulants
Another reason that most people grind or clench their teeth is that they’re quite stimulated. Stimulants include anything from excessive caffeine, chocolate, sodas, and alcohol. These stimulants can increase the effects of your daytime bruxism as they increase the frequency of it.
How Does Daytime Bruxism Impact You?
You may not be entirely sure about how bruxism can impact you. Sometimes bruxism is complicated, and other times, it’s not. If the frequency with which your daytime bruxism occurs increases, then chances are that you may have to deal with some risk factors and medical conditions.
The following are some of the worst impacts of bruxism and how it may affect you:
Jaw Disorders
If you find that you’re constantly locking your jaw in place, then chances are you’ve contracted some sort of TMJ or jaw disorder. It has one of the worst impacts on your jaw, leaving you in pain even when you’re just eating or chewing food.
Tension Headaches
Your jaw and teeth are closely related to your face muscles, thus holding tension in your teeth or jaw area, leading you to extreme headaches that will reel you. The tension-type headaches are some of the most painful that you could face, so you should avoid daytime bruxism in all possible ways.
Damage to Teeth, Crowns, and Restorations
When you’re constantly grinding your teeth together, you’ll notice the teeth crowns and restoration issues in due time. These instruments can be quite gentle, so it’s necessary to be gentle with them. However, over time grinding your teeth can harm these teeth and crowns irreparably.
How Can You Prevent Daytime Bruxism?
Daytime Bruxism is not fun by any measure, so you must employ tactics that can help prevent daytime bruxism. Some of the methods that can help include:
- Acupuncture
- Yoga
- Orthodontic Treatment
- Behavioural Therapy
- SSRIs and Anxiolytics
- Journaling
- Avoiding stimulants such as nicotine, caffeine and alcohol.
- Mouth and Teeth Guards
How Can You Help Treat Your Daytime Bruxism?
There are several ways that you can treat your daytime bruxism. These include the following:
Mouth Guards
A mouth guard can be quite protective as it will help protect your teeth. These are splints that help provide a protective layer between the upper row of teeth and the lower row of teeth. These splints can be custom-made; you could opt for ready-made splints.
Botox Injections
Another way you may prevent teeth from gnashing is by inserting Botoxinto your facial muscles. Your facial muscles remain relaxed, and you won’t have to endure much pain.
Heal Daytime Bruxism With Using Clear Comfort Night Guards
Many people order night guards online to protect themselves against all the ailments of bruxism. You can find ways to heal daytime bruxism with these guards as well. Clear Comfort Night Guards is a company that can ensure you get the best sleep at night. Gain the benefits of Clear Comfort night guard for TMJ pain today!
