Teeth Jaw Clenching Ask The Dentist Questions about Teeth Grinding (Bruxism) in the Dental Health Library

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FAQ: Teeth Grinding

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Question:
Night time teeth grinding: At night when I'm sleeping, I grind my teeth and now the top teeth have taken the shape of the bottom.

The top kind of cave in. I was wondering how to fix this problem. My teeth are also very thin and they chip easily. Just recently I chipped the bottom of my tooth.

I was also wondering how to fix the chip and make my teeth thicker. ...Visitor from CA

Answer:
Teeth Grinding and Thin, Chipped Teeth
The main health problem deals with "the bite" which is also referred to as "the occlusion". When a patient grinds their teeth, over the years the bite changes for the worse. The cusps on the back teeth are worn down flat, the bite gets deeper and the enamel on the teeth gets thinner.

As the grinding process continues the front teeth get thin and the edges of the enamel begins to chip as the teeth get shorter. Eventually the entire face is impacted because of all of the teeth are worn down and the lower face gets shorter between the nose and the chin.

The face shortens because all of the teeth are worn and the slowly bite collapses as the teeth wear down. The facial support that existed at a younger age is lessened.

A bite reconstruction or at least some form of enamel replacement is necessary depending on the individual issues involving each patient.

The ultimate level of care is Face Lift Dentistry that completely idealizes the bite, the facial height, lips support, length of teeth, angles of teeth and three dimensional jaw positioning.

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