Bruxism can be loosely defined as the habit of clenching or grinding your teeth. It usually involves clenching, especially at night when you’re sleeping, but it can also involve jaw thrusting and other unusual habits that put pressure on your teeth. We explain more about it on this page: https://tesclinic.com/services/bruxism/.

People brux for different reasons. Some are able to stop once they are aware of it, while others have a harder time controlling this bad habit. Symptoms include discomfort in your jaws, headache, earaches, tender gums, worn tooth enamel, or even broken teeth.

You may also notice that you clench or grind more intensely when you’re stressed out about something. There are a myriad of ways in which bruxism may affect your life.

●      Bruxism can Cause you to Lose Sleep

It may keep you up at night due to the discomfort experienced after teeth clenching/grinding. The bruxing action of your jaw muscles placing pressure on your teeth while sleeping is likely to disturb your normal sleep pattern both in terms of duration and quality. You may also experience difficulty falling asleep or waking up tired even if you have had adequate amounts of sleep time.

●      Sleep Deprivation Affects your Overall Health

Chronic lack of sleep has been associated with reduced energy levels, mood swings, impaired memory, reduced cognitive function, and an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. So perhaps that’s reason enough to work toward stopping bruxism.

●      Bruxism can Interfere with your Personal as well as Professional Life

Teeth grinding and clenching can cause severe jaw, neck, and facial pain, which is very uncomfortable. It may also lead to broken teeth and expensive dental bills. And because you’re not resting at night due to bruxism, it can affect your concentration levels during the day – whether it’s a meeting with a client or a class lecture – making you appear unfocused around others. This might impact your working relationships or performance appraisal rating at work.

However, there are effective treatments for bruxism in Singapore, mainly via fixing malocclusions (misalignment of teeth) and by providing oral appliance therapy that allows you to stop the bruxing action. Therefore, do not ignore this problem as it can impact your physical and psychological well-being.

Is bruxism Damage Reversible?

If you immediately stopped the clenching/grinding habit, any tooth damage due to excessive teeth pressure would be reversible. However, if you continue with this habit over a long period of time, leading to chronic teeth misalignment (malocclusion), then there is little or no chance for them to return back to their normal positions even after treatment has resolved the clenching/grinding issue.

Once your molars are shifted backward, they may never move forward again. So try your best to break this bad oral habit before irreversible damage occurs.

There are many different types of bruxism in Singapore, some with more severe consequences than others. Symptoms range from tooth clenching and tooth grinding to the unusual habit of tongue thrusting, cheek biting, and lip chewing.

If you’ve been diagnosed with bruxism, the next step is to find out how severe your symptoms are and whether or not they’re affecting other areas of your life, such as your family, work, and social activities.

Here’s a list of questions that may help you understand the effects bruxism has on you:

• How often do I clench or grind my teeth?
• Do I feel pain in one or more teeth? If so, when was this first noted? How frequent and intense is it? What is the location of the pain – front, back, upper, lower teeth? Does this happen when I’m asleep at night – grinding/clenching my teeth? Do any jaw muscles hurt?
• How many hours a day do I clench/grind my teeth during the waking hours? Do I do it while awake but not talking or about to speak, while eating, or at any other time? Am I aware of clenching/grinding my teeth after I wake up in the morning and before going to bed at night?
• When I clench/grind my teeth, is there any movement of the facial muscles (other than those used for chewing)? For example, are there muscle spasms around or behind the eyes? Do these occur only when I’m awake or also when asleep? Are they worse when under stress or strain – physical activities such as sports, mental stress like exams, etc.
• Do I clench/grind my teeth only when under stress, or am I always clenching/grinding them?
• Do I frequently swallow while eating and talking? Do I ever choke on food because of this action? Does food get caught in the back of my throat on a regular basis?
• Does your jaw lock up on you at random times during the day? Can you open your mouth fully without pain or restriction of movement? How does it feel if someone tries to open your mouth wider than is comfortable for you?
• Can you voluntarily move your jaw muscles independent of other muscle groups, i.e., can you protrude your lower jaw forward while keeping your head stationary with respect to the neck muscles, or cause any other abnormal movement of your jaw muscles with respect to the skull?

What Happens if Bruxism is Left Untreated?

There are several treatment options for bruxism in Singapore depending on the severity, so; there is practically no reason to leave it untreated. Severe cases of bruxism can lead to major dental problems, such as fractured teeth, damaged fillings, worn tooth enamel, gum damage, and receding gums.

It is important to note that bruxism is NOT just a sleep disorder. The main source of the problem, which actually begins in childhood, lies in hormonal imbalances or deficiencies or an incorrect bite resulting from malocclusion (misalignment of teeth).

If left untreated, bruxism can lead to more serious health problems down the road, such as TMJ problems, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Headaches / Migraines, Insomnia. This condition has also been associated with drug abuse, especially cocaine use.

The best way to treat this troubling habit is through orthodontics – fixing malocclusions by relaxing overly tight muscles, and opening up blocked air passages. As the jaw gradually returns to its normal position, gums and bones will return to their natural state as well.

Final Thoughts

Bruxism can be managed so that you can get back to living a comfortable and healthy life. Seek help from your dentist and/or doctor if you think you have this condition so that it doesn’t escalate into anything worse.

At TES Clinic, our team of experts is constantly seeking innovative techniques to upgrade the quality of dental services that we provide. Being one of the top clinics in Singapore, we have had a lot of experience treating patients who suffer from bruxism and other dental problems. If you are struggling with the same problem, contact us now to set up an appointment. Call: +65 6737 0552.

TES Clinic for Face & Jaw

304 Orchard Road, Lucky Plaza Suites #05-42, Medical Specialists, 238863

+65 9735 9930

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How do you know you have damaged hair? The hair becomes dry and brittle, and when you brush your fingers through it, they almost surely get stuck because your hair can easily get tangled. You might also notice that your hair is prone to breakage, has split ends, and has lost its colour.

Hair damage can be caused by several factors, including using hair products with harmful chemicals such as sulfates and parabens or doing excessive heat styling. Another and probably the most common cause of hair damage is STRESS! There is no doubt that taking too much stress can lead to hair loss, but it does far more than that. An excessive amount of stress can lead to hair loss and lead to severe dandruff. It can cause telogen effluvium, which causes your hair follicles to go dormant, causing hair in the middle of a hair cycle to fall out.

Sounds scary, right? But don’t worry, here are 5 steps you can take to avoid or repair hair damage:

• Switch To A Better Shampoo

Our everyday shampoos are effective at cleaning our hair, but most of them contain harmful chemicals that can damage our hair in the long run. For this reason, it is recommended to use hair care products that are dedicated to the type of hair you have. In this case, you should use a repair remedy shampoo that doesn’t contain harmful substances and provides the nourishment your hair needs to heal and rejuvenate.

• Minimise Heat Styling

Heat styling tools like blow dryers, flat irons, and curling irons can all wreak havoc on your hair if used regularly as repeated exposure to high temperatures can cause serious hair damage. These tools affect different hair types differently and you won’t notice any immediate damage but eventually, you will. If possible, don’t overuse heat styling tools. All things are good in moderation. Try letting your hair air dry naturally as much as you can.

• Say No To Chemical Treatments

Chemical treatments, such as bleach, can cause a lot of problems. Despite the damage they can cause to your hair, your hairdresser will probably never tell you about it. Chemical treatments can dry and break your hair. When it comes to hair colours, in order to set permanently, hair colour must penetrate your hair cuticles, which serve as natural shields. After the ammonia in hair dye climbs your natural barrier, the chemicals in hair dye remove your natural hair colour so that a new colour can be applied to your hair. The more you do this the more damage your hair will suffer.

• Have As Much ‘ME’ Time You Can

One of the major causes of hair damage is excessive stress, as we mentioned before. You can take medication for this, but the best way to get rid of it is to relax and take time off from work. Make meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises part of your daily routine. You’ll notice that your damaged hair will also improve if you make this a habit. Get your stress out of your system by doing something that makes you feel good. Seek professional help if necessary.

• Adding Leave-In Cream To Your Hair Care Routine

Apart from hair damage shampoo, you should also consider adding a repair remedy leave-in cream to your hair care routine. You can replenish your damaged hair with leave-in creams that leave your hair looking healthy and supple. Make sure that the product is made with natural ingredients rather than harmful chemicals.

People tend to ignore the signs of damaged hair or think that it isn’t a big deal but it is. If you think your hair is damaged do not neglect it, do something about it. There are varieties of great repair remedy products available today that can help you or you can just follow the above 5 tips and see wonders happen to your damaged hair.