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About 50 per cent of her adult patients, roughly one in every two, show varying degrees of teeth grinding.
Many adults only learn that they grind their teeth because someone else tells them. “You were making that sound again.” A rough scraping, like stone grinding against stone, sometimes loud enough to wake the person beside you. And yet the grinder sleeps through it.
So how does it happen? Dr Serah Wanza, a dentist and founder of Versatile Dental Solutions in Nairobi, explains that bruxism (teeth grinding) occurs when the teeth press together, the jaw shifts, and the masseter muscles, the ones we use to chew food, work involuntarily and rhythmically.
“Sleep bruxism is a sleep-related movement disorder, believed to be regulated by the central nervous system, involving autonomic and brain activity related to arousal or alertness,” she says.
Awake bruxism, Dr Wanza adds, is often linked to stress and heightened alertness, which can trigger increased autonomic cardiac activity.
“Other risk factors include genetics, medication such as antipsychotics, heavy alcohol use, excessive caffeine, tobacco use, and highly stressful life circumstances,” she says.
How common is it?
Dr Wanza says about 50 per cent of her adult patients, roughly one in every two, show varying degrees of teeth grinding (bruxism). Often, clues show up in the morning. The earliest warning signs of teeth grinding include jaw pain upon waking, temporal headaches, and restricted jaw joint movement.
She adds that teeth grinding can also cause tooth sensitivity as the enamel wears down and cracks due to sustained pressure on the teeth.
About 50 per cent of her adult patients, roughly one in every two, show varying degrees of teeth grinding.
“For people with fillings, crowns, veneers, or bridges, teeth grinding subjects these restorations to repeated heavy bite forces, often stronger than normal chewing. Over time, that constant pressure can strain the restoration and how it sits on the tooth, raising the risk of cracks, chips, loosening, or early failure.”
What happens if left untreated?
Over time, bruxism gradually wears down tooth structure and can affect both the teeth and the surrounding facial muscles.
“The most notable change is tooth flattening and shortening,” she says.
Because it is often a subconscious habit, happening during sleep or while awake, many people do not realise they have bruxism until symptoms appear.
“But more than 50 per cent of adults with obstructive sleep apnoea have comorbid sleep bruxism,” she adds.
Left untreated for long periods, Dr Wanza warns, bruxism can progress to tooth loss, making major restorative dental work necessary.
Treatment, she says, focuses on three things: addressing underlying causes, protecting the teeth, and reducing muscle activity.
“Combination therapy for adult bruxism includes a custom night guard, worn as a barrier between the upper and lower teeth during sleep or even during the day if needed, stress-reduction techniques, treatment of sleep disorders where present, and dental monitoring with restoration, when necessary,” she says.
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