Night tooth grinding affects a great many people. When someone is asleep, he or she really doesn't know what's going on, however, many patients strongly deny that they grind at night. They are often not aware of their problem! In many cases it goes totally unnoticed until the patient becomes concerned about the flattening of his or her smile.

          A common symptom of night tooth grinding is tooth sensitivity. It's a bit uncomfortable to eat hot or cold foods. Since they're having dental pain, many patients think they have cavities when it's really caused by the constant battering of their teeth. They then get mad at the dentist for not doing a tooth filling that was really unnecessary.

          The whole person has to be treated, not just the night tooth grinding. Patients live 24 hours a day and only sleep 8 of those hours. What you do during the 16 hours while you are awake affects what you do during your sleep. Many dentists simply make a tooth grinding mouth guard and fail to fully understand the whole problem. The patient wearing the appliance doesn't get better because there's more to the problem than just protecting the teeth.

          Night tooth grinding gives the jaw muscles a work out and many patients awake in the morning with tight muscles. They can't open well when they get up but it gets better throughout the day. Dr. Padolsky's philosophy is based on the concept that the tooth grinding is based on some physical problem that precipitates it. Many patients also have TMJ problems, snore and suffer with sleep apnea. If you would like to make an appointment with Dr. Padolsky, call 404-874-7428.