Grinding/Bruxism

“Biting your way through life”, “chewing on a problem” or even “grudgingly accepting something” – who doesn’t know these phrases?

Have you ever paid attention to how often you have your teeth together? Actually, they should only be in contact for half an hour a day, because the teeth are there to chew. Even when we swallow, they only have very brief contact – but not otherwise. If we grind our teeth at night or are tensed up all day, the strain often becomes too great. The muscles can be overworked, aching and thickening; yet the main masticatory muscle is already the strongest muscle in the body when viewed cross-sectionally!

The temporomandibular joint

The temporomandibular joint is the joint in the body with the greatest degree of freedom and is located just in front of the ear. For this reason, it is easy to confuse earache and TMJ pain. Physical and mental overload can lead to misalignments in the temporomandibular joint and contribute to tension. If the neck muscles are also affected, tension headaches can occur.

An incorrect bite, i.e. a position of the teeth in relation to each other that is unfavourable for the joint, can lead to incorrect stress and non-physiological wear when grinding or pressing – whether during the day or at night. The corresponding diagnoses such as cranio-mandibular dysfunction (CMD) or bruxism are therefore influenced by many factors.

So how can we help you?

A bite splint, worn at night and sometimes during the day, relieves pressure on your joints and gives your chewing and jaw system a balanced position. It also protects the structures of your masticatory system.

In addition, physiotherapy, self-exercise and relaxation techniques can relieve symptoms. In acute phases, we may recommend a ready-made acute splint before you receive an individual splint. Their fabrication is accompanied by different measurements of the temporomandibular joint position.

We place special emphasis on adjusting the splint several times, if necessary, to make sure that it is just right for them and as delicate as possible. Most of our CMD patients would not want to do without such a splint with the optimal position.

Our practice is open for you:

Monday - Thursday
8:00 - 20:00

Friday
8:00 - 17:00

Saturday
by arrangement