Prosthesis Specialist Uz. from Memorial Bahçelievler Hospital Oral and Dental Health Department. Dr. Esma Sönmez gave information about clenching. Stress invites many diseases… Bruxism, popularly known as clenching, is among these ailments. Problems and disagreements experienced in business life, which covers a significant part of the day, can manifest as a clenching problem, especially at night. Prosthesis Specialist Uz. from Memorial Bahçelievler Hospital Oral and Dental Health Department. Dr. Esma Sönmez gave information about clenching.
Here the limit of tolerance can go down to the lowest levels.
Clenching is an involuntary and parafunctional chewing system disorder that occurs during the day and during sleep in the form of teeth grinding and clenching, causing various negativities in the hard and soft tissues of the mouth. Many people can be in a serious stress wave during the day or at night for reasons such as workload and the high tempo of daily life. There can be many other reasons that increase people's stress level. While this stress reduces the tolerance limit in human relations to the lowest levels from time to time, it can also lead to a significant increase in the involuntary behaviors of people. The habit of clenching teeth is also one of these behaviors. It is common for individuals to keep their teeth in contact and apply force to them during daily activities. These types of tables are also seen during the day when individuals concentrate on their work or exert intense physical force.
There may be more than one factor at the source of clenching.
The causes of clenching are still debated, and often psychological, genetic and stress factors are emphasized. Today, there is a common belief that it may be related to more than one factor. Scientific studies show that clenching during sleep is related to oral-facial functions and sleep regulation in the central and autonomic nervous system, as well as psychosocial and genetic factors. However, in order to explain the genetic effect, chromosomal diagnosis is required with studies on many generations.
Clenching has strong associations with anxiety, nervousness, and depression.
Psychiatric symptoms have been observed in many patients along with clenching. In studies on this syndrome, it has been reported that patients need to be evaluated psychologically and psychiatrically. Psychological factors also increase the existing temporomandibular pain and the severity of complaints, and may reduce the response to treatments applied to relieve pain. It has been shown that electrical activity in the masticatory muscle increases when psychological stress is increased in experimental conditions. An increase in clenching or grinding of teeth has also been observed after stressful and tiring days. In studies on psychological factors in these parafunctional habits, strong associations were obtained with anxiety, nervousness, anxiety and depression.
Clenching causes many health problems
As a result of clenching, forces within different mechanisms in teeth, joints and tissues; however, stresses occur. It has been reported in the literature that clenching causes tooth wear, muscle pain, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain, tooth pain and mobility, headache, and various problems for fixed and removable prostheses. Studies conducted on children, young adults and adults have shown the importance of the relationships between various parafunctional activities and TMJ symptoms. Clenching can also lead to attrition, that is, friction-induced wear. As long as the clenching continues, the damage in the mouth area increases, cracks in the tooth enamel, sensitivity in the teeth, enamel fractures and discoloration can be seen. In addition, bone resorption and gingival recession may be encountered in the long term. Most of those who maintain the clenching parafunction may need extensive dental restorations in the long run. Teeth clenching and grinding cause hypertrophy, ie growth, in the facial muscles and chewing muscles (especially the masseter). In the long term, it may cause a square chin appearance as a result. Pain and tenderness, fatigue and functional limitation are seen in the masseter and temporal muscles due to teeth clenching and grinding.
Transparent plates play an important role in treatment
A number of treatment methods are applied against teeth grinding or clenching problems. Dentists should always resort to conventional treatments that are always reversible in the first stage. One of these methods is the transparent plates used to cut the contact of the teeth with each other. An antidepressant or muscle relaxant can be used under the control of a physician in individuals with excessive clenching. The drug is not a treatment method alone, it should be used together with the clear plate. With regular controls and adaptations of the chewing surface of the plate, long-short-term damages can be prevented.