Are your patients grinding in their sleep?

Stress is a very real modern-day phenomenon and can manifest itself in all kinds of ways causing damage to our health and wellbeing. Aside from the negative impact that a stress-fuelled diet may have on the health of our patients' mouths – an increase in erosive alcohol and a desire for more sugary food and drinks, for example – stress can also lead to serious damage to their teeth. Dental teams in the UK have seen an increase in the numbers of patients suffering with bruxism, which not only wears down teeth, permanently damaging them as the enamel is worn away, but increases the risk of developing other symptoms such as headaches, TMD disorders, facial pain, ear pain and is associated with sleep apnoea. In fact, it has been found that nearly 70% of bruxism occurs as a symptom of stress or anxiety.