Bruxism and braces

[tdm]

Hey everyone,

I'm 19 and I've suffered from bruxism for the past year or so, along with TMJ before that. I'm not very happy with how my teeth look and I'd like to get it sorted. The thing I'm concerned about is my bruxism affecting treatment. I currently wear a night guard to reduce wear to my teeth (which have worn noticeably over the last year), and I presumably wouldn't be able to wear one if I had braces on? Has anyone got orthodontic treatment whilst having bruxism? If so, what kind of braces did you opt for and what was the result?

Any info is much appreciated! :)

[BaliGirl]

Hi tdm, I suffered from bruxism before braces. I was also concerned about this (I chewed through one night guard and cracked 2 teeth despite the night guard) and my orthodontist said that the bruxing would stop once my teeth started moving from the braces. Somehow the sensation of teeth moving short circuits the habit. I asked about a night guard to protect my teeth just in case I did it anyway, and he said that would not be possible because a guard would prevent tooth movement. I'm glad to say that he was right, and after a week or so of wearing braces the bruxing stopped. I hope this is the case for you as well.

I have metal braces (my choice). Although I could have chosen ceramic braces, they tend to break more easily than metal and are harder to remove from your teeth (they don't always come off in one piece and the remains may need to be sanded off your teeth). I've had a few brackets pop off during the course of treatment and I'm extra glad I chose metal now - my teeth are very sensitive and I don't think I could have tolerated any more sanding than was necessary to re-attach the metal brackets.

[jem]

Hi All,

My dentist noticed I was wearing my teeth down excessively about 18 months ago and I have worn a mouthguard on my bottom teeth since then. We have also noticed that my upper left central incisor was too far back and biting down on my lower incisors instead of in front of them. Hence the decision to have a brace on my upper teeth to move the central incisor and unscramble the adjacent teeth that are blocking it backwards. Fortunately, I am able to continue to wear mouthguard as my bottom teeth are not braced. They are mildly crooked, but not so bad as to make having a lower brace worthwhile.

Jem

[rloraine]

I am a 28 year old adult with braces and I have bruxism so bad I have to take a medication called gabapentin to relieve the tension. I don't ever realize I'm doing it until my teeth and/or jaw are sore from the pressure. I currently have a cracked molar caused by the bruxism. To make matters worse, as part of my treatment, my orthodontist requires that I wear GI's on my back molars to prop my bite open to prevent my top teeth from knocking the bottom brackets off because I have such a deep bite/malocclusion/overbite. My overbite is at 120% and is so bad that my front teeth on the top have rubbed my bottom gums to the point that they have receded to the point that the roots are showing on 3 of the 4 front teeth on the bottom. Anyway, the worst part about the bruxism and my braces treatment is that because the GI's are "some of the biggest (my orthodontist and regular dentist) have seen in a long time", the bruxism and the GI's have pushed the two molars that they rest on down so far that the chewing surface of those two molars are almost level or flush with my gumline. Because of this it has caused the brackets on those two molars to dig down into my gums which then forced my ortho to put me into a heavier wire that reached all the way back to those molars a lot sooner than he planned. I have found myself to have a less than pleasant experience with my braces (which I have only had for approx. 10 weeks) because the pain never goes away. Ever! I can't think of a single instance where something in my mouth didn't hurt this entire time. Because I have the bruxism working against the new heavy wire, it keeps me in pain. I'm in pain because my teeth naturally hurt with the new wire, which is a lot heavier than it should be, and I'm also in pain because my bruxism keeps pressure on those already sore teeth. I have to make a concious effort to try to not clench my teeth but I'm constantly catching myself. While I sleep it'sthe worst because I can't catch myself until I've clenched so hard for so long that the pain actually wakes me up. My dental hygienist has suggested I use a mouthguard at night but I wasn't sure I should look into it because of my braces. By the way, if it puts into perspective how big my GI's are, I have lost 25 lbs since my braces were put on, my blood sugar has dropped twice so low that I began to have cloudy vision and saw light halos until I got it back up. I choke on a lot of food unless it's really soft or tender. I cannot eat anything flat such as a tortilla, onion, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. Basically, if I can't mash it with my tongue, I can't eat it. I have resulted to an excessive amount or vitamins and drinking nutritional shakes (Ensure) daily just to keep my nutrients where they need to be. Anyone else have a comparable horror story about their experience with either bruxism or braces?

[Woobster]

I suffer from bruxism as well. In fact, it's the main reason I got braces. My orhto has been wonderful throughout the entire process. He has made me multiple night guards to wear as my teeth have moved and changed. So, it is possible!

[newbite]

I got braces because of my bruxism, as well (clenching and grinding). I immediately stopped grinding once the braces were on (probably because it hurt) and as soon as I started getting used to the braces and noticed I was starting to move my jaw around again the ortho gave me elastics (for my underbite) which stopped the weird involuntary jaw movements. For a few months I would wake up knowing I had been clenching my teeth, but there was so pain like before only a pressure feeling. The past month or so I haven't noticed this, maybe because my bite is increasingly better or just because I'm not sleeping very much!

Hopefully the braces will short circuit your bruxism. It doesn't happen for everyone, though, and some people even start bruxing because of getting braces.

[Heidirs]

I know this post is old, but I wasn't finding the information I was look for elsewhere. And I'm hoping some recent people can jump in from here and add to the discussion.

I have spacers in, and I can tell I'm grinding my teeth at night, so I'm concerned about grinding with braces. I think it would be a lot easier for me to eat food now if I wasn't grinding.

my orthodontist said that the bruxing would stop once my teeth started moving from the braces. Somehow the sensation of teeth moving short circuits the habit. I asked about a night guard to protect my teeth just in case I did it anyway, and he said that would not be possible because a guard would prevent tooth movement. I'm glad to say that he was right, and after a week or so of wearing braces the bruxing stopped. I hope this is the case for you as well.

This is what I'm ortho has told me. I hope it stops because there's no way they can keep grinding like they are now. There's no point risking the damage for a year and half.

I suffer from bruxism as well. In fact, it's the main reason I got braces. My orhto has been wonderful throughout the entire process. He has made me multiple night guards to wear as my teeth have moved and changed. So, it is possible!

And then I read posts like this and I'm all confused. Does I need a mouth guard or not?

I got braces because of my bruxism, as well (clenching and grinding). I immediately stopped grinding once the braces were on (probably because it hurt) and as soon as I started getting used to the braces and noticed I was starting to move my jaw around again the ortho gave me elastics (for my underbite) which stopped the weird involuntary jaw movements.

That's interesting. I suppose I could ask about that as an extra precaution.

Anyone else have a comparable horror story about their experience with either bruxism or braces?

It sounds like you're clenching your teeth, which my ortho said there's nothing that can be done about, which is why you're having so much trouble.