Dental Factoid
Some medical treatments such as radiation therapy can actually permanently damage the salivary glands. And more than 400 kinds of medications list dry mouth as a side effect. The more common drugs include decongestants, diuretics, anti-hypertensives, anti-depressants, and antihistamines.
Some medical treatments such as radiation therapy can actually permanently damage the salivary glands. And more than 400 kinds of medications list dry mouth as a side effect. The more common drugs include decongestants, diuretics, anti-hypertensives, anti-depressants, and antihistamines.
Teeth grinding, also called bruxism, is often viewed as a harmless, though annoying, habit. Some people develop bruxism from an inability to deal with stress or anxiety.
However, teeth grinding can literally transform your bite relationship and worse, severely damage your teeth and jaws over long periods of time.
Teeth grinding can cause abrasion to the chewing surfaces of your teeth. This abnormal wear and tear will prematurely age and loosen your teeth, and open them to problems such as hypersensitivity (from the small cracks that form, exposing your dentin.) Bruxism can also lead to chronic jaw and facial pain, as well as headaches.
If no one has told you that you grind your teeth, here are a few clues that you may suffer from bruxism:
- Your jaw is often sore, or you hear popping sounds when you open and close your mouth.
- Your teeth look abnormally short or worn down.
- You notice small dents in your tongue.