How to Stop Grinding Teeth

Did you know that grinding your teeth at night is bad? Many of us grind our teeth without even realizing it, which causes stress to our teeth. The teeth' enamel is soft compared to the hard bone in our jaws.

This means that you can have teeth that are badly damaged just from grinding at night. Luckily, there are ways for you to prevent this from happening and to stop grinding your teeth altogether.

Below, we'll go over how to stop grinding teeth. Keep reading!

Avoid Caffeinated Beverages

Caffeine is a stimulant and can cause you to feel more anxious and stressed, leading to teeth grinding. If you regularly drink coffee, tea, or energy drinks, try to cut back or switch to decaffeinated versions.

You should also avoid drinking alcohol before bed, as this can relax the muscles in your jaw and lead to teeth grinding. If you're struggling to reduce caffeine, talk to your doctor or dentist about other ways to help stop grinding your teeth.

Relax Before Bedtime

Relaxing before bedtime can help to stop grinding teeth. When stressed, we tend to clench our jaws and grind our teeth. This can lead to pain in the jaw and headaches.

If we can learn to relax before bedtime, we can help to prevent this from happening. Wind down for at least 30 minutes before you turn off the lights. While you're at it, you could do some reading, listen to calming music, or take a warm bath.

Once in bed, focus on your breath and clear your mind of racing thoughts. If you find yourself starting to grind your teeth, clench your jaw, or tense up, consciously relax those muscles and take a few deep breaths.

Use a Retainer or Mouthguard

A retainer or mouthguard can be a simple and effective way to stop grinding teeth. For some people, grinding their teeth is a nervous habit they are unaware of. Others may grind their teeth at night, leading to headaches, jaw pain, and other problems.

Wearing a retainer or mouthguard can help to protect your teeth from the wear and tear of grinding. There are a few things to consider when deciding whether a retainer or mouthguard is right for you and your needs.

Consider How Often You Grind Your Teeth

If you only grind your teeth occasionally, a mouthguard may be the better option, as it can be taken out and only used when needed.

However, if you grind your teeth frequently or at night, then a retainer might be a better option, as you can wear it at all times.

Consider the Cost

Mouthguards can be less expensive than retainers, but you must replace them more often.

Keep Up With Cleaning and Maintenance

Retainers need to be cleaned daily and can be a hassle to keep up with. However, mouthguards only need to be cleaned occasionally and are generally easier to take care of.

Ultimately, the decision between a retainer or mouthguard comes down to personal preference and what will work better for you and your lifestyle. If you also want to learn more about dental mouthguards, check out this link.

Try Yoga or Meditation

Yoga and meditation can be highly effective stress management tools to reduce tension, leading to teeth grinding. Both yoga and meditation promote relaxation and can help to release muscle tension throughout the body.

In addition, yoga and meditation can help to increase awareness of the body and breath, which can help to prevent teeth grinding during times of stress.

Massage Temples and Jaw Muscles

You can do a few things to stop grinding teeth, and one of them is to massage the temples and jaw muscles. This will help to relax the muscles and allow the teeth to stop grinding. There are a few pressure points in the temples that, when massaged, can help to relieve tension in the jaw and stop grinding teeth.

To massage the temples, use your index fingers and gently press on the fleshy part of each temple. Hold for a few seconds and release. Repeat a few times.

You can also massage the muscles in front of the ears. To do this, place your thumbs on the inside of each ear and your index fingers on the outside. Gently press and massage the muscles in a circular motion.

Go to Your Dentist

Identifying the underlying cause of your teeth grinding is essential in developing the best plan to stop the habit. Your dentist will ensure that your teeth are properly aligned, which can also contribute to grinding.

If the teeth are not aligned, they can rub against each other and cause grinding.

Avoid Hard Foods

Hard foods can damage your teeth and make them more likely to break. If you do eat hard foods, you should chew them slowly and carefully.

You should also avoid chewing gum and eating candy. Gum and candy can damage your teeth and make them more likely to break.

Learn How to Stop Grinding Teeth Today

Teeth grinding, also called bruxism, is a common problem that can negatively affect oral health. Teeth grinding in sleep can cause damage to your teeth and jaw and lead to headaches and other problems.

If you want to know how to stop grinding teeth, you need to find the root cause of the problem. For some people, it may be stress-related and can be resolved by managing stress levels.

Others may need to change their sleep habits or see their local dentist to get a mouthguard. Whatever the cause, you can take steps to stop grinding your teeth.

We hope this article was helpful. For more informative posts, check out the rest of our blog.