{"id":67,"date":"2019-03-11T16:23:45","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T16:23:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/?p=67"},"modified":"2026-04-03T21:01:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T21:01:15","slug":"dentist-in-west-seneca-shares-3-proven-ways-to-stop-grinding-your-teeth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/dentist-in-west-seneca-shares-3-proven-ways-to-stop-grinding-your-teeth\/","title":{"rendered":"Dentist in West Seneca Shares 3 Proven Ways to Stop Grinding Your Teeth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/AdobeStock_127745537__1554999781_66768-300x200.jpg\"  class=\"wp-image-68\"\/ alt=\"Hand writing bruxism on a board\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/AdobeStock_127745537__1554999781_66768-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/AdobeStock_127745537__1554999781_66768-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/AdobeStock_127745537__1554999781_66768.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>You work hard to take care of your teeth during the day, but\ndid you know that they could be developing serious damage while you sleep?\nPeriods of high-stress can lead to unconscious teeth grinding during the night,\nbetter known as \u201cbruxism,\u201d and this can spell serious trouble for your oral\nhealth if left untreated. If you suspect that you might be grinding your teeth\nin West Seneca, read on to learn how you can find out, and more importantly,\nwhat you can do to stop it and protect your smile! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Know that You Are Grinding Your Teeth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>People who regularly experience bruxism tend to exhibit a\nfew telltale symptoms, the primary one being that their teeth look extremely\nflat and worn down. This is because bruxism actually exposes the teeth to\npressure up to 4x greater than regular chewing, which is enough to crack and\neven break enamel. Another sign to look out for is something called a scalloped\ntongue, in which the grinding teeth actually leave a row of impressions on the\nside of the tongue. It is also common for people to wake up with a headache or\nsore jaw because bruxism can lead to tense and strained muscles. It can also be\na side effect of sleep apnea, so sufferers may tend to feel exhausted during\nthe day despite how much they have slept. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Dangers of Grinding Your Teeth &nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Untreated bruxism can cause a variety of serious oral health\nissues if left untreated, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Chipped\/broken teeth<\/li><li>Teeth that appear flat\/unattractive<\/li><li>Chronic pain in the jaw, face, head, and neck<\/li><li>Severely worn down dental restorations\/dentures <\/li><li>Tooth loss<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Get Past the Grind <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Breaking a bad habit is difficult on its own, but what\nshould you do about one that only occurs when you are asleep? Thankfully, there\nare a few proven ways to keep your teeth safe from the nightly grind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Try to\nreduce your stress. <\/strong>Overwhelmingly, bruxism is the result of daily stress,\nso making time to relax, especially in the evening, is a great way to prevent this\nhabit.<\/li><li><strong>Try to\nnotice when you grind your teeth.<\/strong> Many people who primarily experience\nbruxism at night also grind their teeth during the day, and figuring out what\ntriggers this could be a big help. Are their certain situations where your jaw\ntenses up, or does it just happen naturally throughout the day? Keeping this in\nmind can help you actively relax these muscles. <\/li><li><strong>Visit\nyour dentist.<\/strong> Your dentist in West Seneca cannot only help you determine\nwhether or not you are grinding in the first place, but they can also help you\nkeep your teeth protected while you are trying to break the habit. They can\nprovide you with a custom-made mouthpiece called a nightguard that you will\nwear to bed, which will place a barrier between the rows of teeth to prevent\nany harmful contact during the night. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>While bruxism can cause serious\ndamage to your smile, a trip to your dentist might be all you need to sleep\nsoundly and keep your smile in one piece night after night. If any of the\nsymptoms listed above sound familiar, be sure to schedule an appointment sooner\nrather than later\u2014your smile will thank you for it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the Author <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/lee-shainbrown-dds.html\">Dr.\nLee Shainbrown<\/a> is a family, restorative, and cosmetic dentist based in West\nSeneca who practices at Applegate Dental. Bruxism is a common problem he sees\nalmost every day, and if you think you might be grinding your teeth at night, he\nis more than ready to help by providing a therapeutic mouthguard and give you\nstrategies on how to relax stressed facial muscles. To learn more about\neverything you have just read or schedule an appointment, he can be contacted\nthrough his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/contact.html\">website<\/a>.\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You work hard to take care of your teeth during the day, but did you know that they could be developing serious damage while you sleep? Periods of high-stress can lead to unconscious teeth grinding during the night, better known as \u201cbruxism,\u201d and this can spell serious trouble for your oral health if left untreated. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":270,"href":"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67\/revisions\/270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.applegatedentalpllc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}