Bruxism Solution...Is there one?

The most common symptom of bruxism is the constant grinding of the teeth, mostly at night, when the person is sleep. In most cases, the people that have the condition are not aware that they have it. The person that shares the bed with them will bear the brunt of the bruxism. With little or no sleep because of the constant grinding. It's a eerie noise.

I know about this firsthand. My little brother is a sufferer of bruxism. When we were growing up he had it bad. He would grind his teeth all night. And it would drive me crazy! I would get no sleep and the only way that I knew that would stop him (for a second anyway...) was to punch him while he was sleeping! (I know it was cruel, but I was a kid at the time!)

I would punch him in his sleep! I would kick him in his sleep!! I would elbow him in his sleep!!! It worked for all of 30 seconds! He would switch positions and go right back to sleep...and grinding! And since I had nowhere else to sleep, I eventually learned to zone it out! (That's why to this day I can fall asleep in front of a 6 foot speaker, blasting music!!!)

But to my brother's knowledge, he didn't know that he had this problem. All he knew was that when he woke up in the morning, his ribs and arms were aching like he had been in a fight!!! :-) Now he is married with kids and his wife has to deal with it! Thank god! The point is that you will probably never know that you have this condition unless your significant other complains about it.

If you don't have a significant other then the other symptoms include:

Jaw muscles tight in the morning.

A headache in th morning.

Facial pain.

Damaged teeth, fractured fillings and injured gums.

The solutions of bruxism vary from surgery(...if you have the money) to mouthguards. Now don't quote me on this but, if I'm not mistaken the only way that you are going to get your health insurance company to pay for your bruxism is if it is life threatening.

I don't have bruxism, but I have chronic snoring. The two conditions are related. Chronic snoring, Bruxism,TMJ are all related to each other in one way or another. Anyway, when I went to my doctor's appointment, he suggested that I stay overnight at this sleeping disorder clinic.

At this clinic, they monitor your blood pressure, your breathing, your R.E.M. sleep. All of this while you're sleeping. They do this to determine whether or not you deserve a chance of having surgery to remove your snoring condition. The next week I was told that I had chronic snoring and that the only way that my insurance was going to pay for it was that it had to be life threatening. I had to have sleep apnea to get relief!

And since I didn't, my case was rejected by my insurance company! I would have to suffer for the rest of my life (or rather my wife would suffer) because I snored and I didn't stop breathing in my sleep! The surgery itself cost over 20 grand! The point is that if you and your physician can not prove that your bruxism is life threatening, you can either cough up the 30 or 40 thousand it's gonna cost to get it fixed, or try to get your insurance company to pick up the bill!(Good Luck!)

The Mouthguards

There are various mouthguards out there on the market that claim to fix bruxism. I even have some of them on this webpage. But there are also many cases that show that this claim is false, or it is a temporary fix. The thing with the mouthguard is this: you buy a somewhat inexpensive mouthguard, you put it in your mouth at night when you go to sleep. And you chew on the mouthguard and not your teeth, saving your teeth or fillings further damage.

What they DON'T tell you is that if you choose this option, you will be dedicated to buying the mouthguards for the rest of your life! Why? Because they don't last very long and as soon as you wear one out you will be forced to buy another one to replace it. Or go back to grinding your teeth! Does that sound like a fix to you?

In my opinion, if all you want is a temporary fix, then the mouthguards are for you. I say go for it. And if your doctor does recommend that you should have surgery, you should go for that also. You just might have a very serious health issue. But if you want an alternative to the medication and surgery and mouthguards, then I suggets that you check out the Bruxism Help Program! It will give you answers to ALL of your question regarding this condition. Help is just a click away!