Songpa-gu Teeth Grinding: You May Not Be Able to Stop It, But You Can Prevent It!

Songpa-gu teeth grinding: You may not be able to stop it, but you can prevent it!

Hello, I’m Shin Seung-hwan, the chief director of the Songpa-gu Garak-dong branch of Yonsei Uline Dental Clinic, located near Exit 4 of Garak Market Station in Garak-dong, Songpa-gu. Nice to meet you.

Today, I’d like to talk about teeth grinding, which many people worry about.

I get asked very often whether there is a way to prevent teeth grinding, and to get straight to the point, there is no way to completely eliminate it.

This is because the exact cause of teeth grinding has not been fully identified, and it does not occur from a single factor; rather, multiple reasons act together.

People whose teeth do not align well tend to grind their teeth more, whether they want to or not. There are also reports that on days with a lot of stress or tension, teeth grinding can appear as part of a psychological release process.

For that reason, rather than trying to make it so you never grind your teeth at all, the most realistic approach is to protect the teeth as much as possible from damage even if grinding does occur.

During the day, because you can control your behavior to some extent, most people think they do not grind their teeth on purpose.

But at night, you grind your teeth unconsciously, so you cannot control it, and the person sleeping next to you may wake up because of the sound, which can also interfere with deep sleep.

So rather than eliminating the habit itself, teeth protection comes first.

The 대표적인 method is wearing a teeth grinding appliance. If you grind with the teeth directly touching each other, both sides of the teeth wear down at the same time, but if you wear an appliance, it acts as a cushion in between and the appliance wears down instead.

The appliance is made of hard plastic, but because it is weaker than natural teeth, when wear is inevitable, the appliance wears down instead of my teeth. That is why it is the most effective way to prevent tooth wear.

In addition, when there is malocclusion or an imbalance in the teeth alignment, fitting the appliance to the full dental arch can also help prevent unnecessary tooth movement.

In other words, it reduces wear, cushions excessive teeth grinding, and protects the teeth all at the same time.

So for people with severe teeth grinding, it can be considered the most classic and still effective supportive method.

However, there is one thing to be careful about. That is when you wear the teeth grinding appliance without brushing your teeth first. When you wear the appliance, your teeth are less exposed to saliva and air, which increases the risk of cavities.

So when wearing the appliance before bed, it is very important to brush your teeth thoroughly first so that there are no food residues left before wearing it. That way, you can prevent tooth damage and also reduce the risk of cavities.

To summarize, teeth grinding is something to manage rather than completely eliminate, and the most realistic and safest method is to brush your teeth at night and then wear a teeth grinding appliance in a clean oral environment. This has been Yonsei Uline Dental Clinic, located in Garak-dong, Songpa-gu.