Bruxism Causes
Bruxism causes are not completely agreed upon, but daily stress may be the trigger in many people.
Some people probably clench and never feel bruxism symptoms. Whether or not bruxism causes pain and other problems may be a complicated mix of factors.
How much stress you are under, how long and tightly you clench and grind, whether your teeth are misaligned, your posture, ability to relax, diet, sleeping habits, and other factors.
Alcohol and drug use is suspected to increase the occurrence of bruxism. However, bruxism can affect adults for an indefinite period of time. Adults with bruxism have increased occurrence of grinding during times of job, family, or health stress.
Although this habit is unintentional, oral health specialists often point to excessive stress and certain personality types as typical causes of bruxism.
Bruxism often affects persons with nervous tension such as anger, pain, or frustration, and/or persons with aggressive, hurried, or overly-competitive tendencies.
More often, psychological bruxism causes includes:
- Suppressed anger or frustration
- Aggressive, competitive or hyperactive personality type
- Anxiety, stress or tension (Emotional Stress and Bruxism)
- Children with bruxism usually stop grinding their teeth before adulthood. Some researchers think children brux because their top and bottom teeth don't fit together comfortably. Others believe that children grind their teeth because of tension, anger, allergy problems, or as a response to pain from an earache or teething.
