Most people grind or squeeze their teeth without even realizing it. Most of this happens during REM sleep. Some of evidences you will find may be deemed that you wake up in the morning with pain and contraction in your jaw and face, or there may be those who say you grind your teeth while you sleep.

During your checks, your dentist routinely checks for signs of the bruxism. Some of these symptoms are as follows;

• Swelling of the cheek – a situation in which the inner surface of the cheek where the teeth get together gradually thickens and comes into contact with the teeth.
• Wounds on the tongue - tooth marks on the edges of the tongue caused by the tooth clenching.
• Pathological symptoms - Symptoms that normal function of the tooth will have depending on age. For example, if some teeth are worn more intensely than the remaining teeth, there is a possibility of bruxism in the person.
• Although there is no visible damage, the situations in which an uncertain sensitivity is experienced in to many teeth.
• Broken tooth syndromes.
• Repeated breakage of the teeth or crowns made.
• The sensitivities experienced in the muscles controlling the jaw movements.
• Especially bone pain experienced in the morning. The bruxism is also known as a trigger of the migraine pains.

Tooth grinding or squeezing quite damages the teeth, jaw joints and muscles on our face. It is thought that the force we apply to our teeth during the bruxism to be approximately 20 times higher than the force we apply when chewing.

The bruxism is one of the main causes of pain and sensitivity in a tooth. After your dentist makes bruxism diagnose, choice of the materials in the prosthetic treatments (such as metal-supported porcelain, zirconium, and glass-ceramic) to be applied may vary with regard to hardness.

First of all, during your examination, your dentist will tell you that he/she is suspected of tooth grinding or squeezing. He/she may be then recommended you to wear “a soft bite plaque” while sleeping during the night.

This plaque is a 2mm thick plaque that will act as a cushion in the mouth and is very effective in reducing the pressures that you apply to the teeth during bruxism. It helps to reduce the pressure that gives damage to the teeth, relaxes the muscles that apply pressure to the jaw and reduces the headaches caused by the pressure.

Creating the plaque worn during night is a relatively easy procedure. Your dentist will take the size of your upper and lower jaw and pay attention to the position when you close your mouth. The dental technician will produce a new night plaque for you based on these measurements that your dentist takes.

At your second appointment, your dentist will ensure that the measurements are correct by placing this plaque in your mouth. Thus, it will allow you to easily insert and remove the plaque.

You should wear your night plaque every night while you sleep. For some people, as a result of night plaque treatment, the tooth grinding or squeezing can be overcome over time. Between 6 and 12 months of the treatment period, your dentist may recommend you not to wear the night plaque for 2 and 3 weeks.

At the end of this period, by means of a check again, it may be clearly seen whether you have stopped your tooth grinding habit.

If these damaging forces applied to the teeth are seen in a person for a long time, you may be exposed to many of the symptoms mentioned above. In addition to these, if your teeth are damaged in some way, it will be very difficult for you to respond to restorative treatments.

All materials used in the restoration of teeth are designed to withstand chewing, not against clenching. Therefore, your teeth may be damaged much earlier than expected before they can complete their normal life duration.