Re: how do I know if I'm a 'night clencher'?

martin wrote:
I've had two molars crowned because they were cracked, and may have
the symptoms of another cracked molar (all on my left side, BTW).

Doing a bit of research on this newsgroup, I've read that at least one
dentist believes that cracked teeth are nearly always the result of
grinding and clenching, rather than chewing, so I really need to find
out if I do this in my sleep, to safeguard the future of my teeth.

I don't show any signs of grinding (eg: worn cusps), but I do have a
habit of clenching my teeth while awake (but only gentle clenching - I
don't think my I put my teeth together nearly as hard as when I'm
eating).

But I'm worried about what I do when I'm asleep. I don't wake up with
a headache, and I don't feel any tiredness or ache in my jaw muscles.
Since I live alone, and don't know what I do when I'm asleep, are
there any other clues as to whether or not I clench my teeth in the
night?

This is an important question, as the remedy of choice in this
newsgroup - an NTI splint - is only offered by a very few dentists
here in the UK and is very expensive, so I wouldn't want to go this
route unless I had to.

Any advice here would be very welcome.


You may or may not be a clencher. I'm afraid to go on the record as not thinking of the NTI as a panacea--I may be excommunicated from the club. I think the concept is good, and the dentists here that have used it frequently have gotten good results.
However, there is no way to know if your teeth have cracked because you clench. Often a tooth is overbuilt with resin or amalgam that would be better off with an onlay or crown. I've seen many patients where these are the teeth that predictably fracture (especially upper premolars with big MOD amalgams), and no others.
If you DO clench at night, it could well contribute to teeth cracking. But I wouldn't blame clenching as a significant factor in the absence of some actual evidence that you do grind and clench--such as a complaining spouse, for example...

Steve

--
Mark & Steven Bornfeld DDS
http://www.dentaltwins.com
Brooklyn, NY
718-258-5001
.

Relevant Pages

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