Treatment for Bruxism

To minimize and control attrition (tooth-tooth wear) we need to keep the teeth apart during sleeping hours and create a daytime bite that is comfortable and well balanced.
For nighttime control of attrition a night guard (also called occlusal guard, biteguard, or splint) can be used. They are custom-made hard acrylic mouth pieces fabricated to order by the dental office. They can be made to fit over the upper or lower teeth, can cover two teeth or all the teeth in that arch. In extreme cases, they can also be worn during the day. Without the mouthpiece in place, the teeth worn by attrition will continue their destructive process.
To overcome this, an individualized treatment plan is indicated. The plan must realign the biting position of the upper and lower jaws to be in harmony with each other, with the muscles, and with the jaw joints. To accomplish this, we take impressions for study models as well as wax registrations to determine the best course of treatment. The more common treatments include bite adjustment, restoring the worn teeth, orthodontics to realign the upper and lower teeth, jaw surgery to reposition and realign the two arches, joint surgery, or a combination of several of these. The most common treatment in our office is bite adjustment and restoration of some or all of the teeth. Orthodontics is another common treatment. (For more dental information, see my website at www.lajolladental.com)
It is important to note, many dentists don’t understand attrition and how to realign the upper and lower arches and restore the teeth in harmony with each other, with the muscles, and with the jaw joints. Too many crowns get placed on worn teeth without correcting the cause of the attrition. No surprise, then, the wear continues on the new crown(s)!