I am not a doctor, physician, nurse, dentist, or any form of healthcare professional, and I haven't played any one of those roles on TV. The information provided below is based on my own personal research and long time struggle with Bruxism. Please don't take any of it as "medical advice" as I'm not qualified to give it.

With that being said, let's get to the information:

Bruxism is the official term for teeth grinding, but it also goes by others names like teeth clinching, maxillary clinching, etc. The term Bruxism is derived from the Greek word brugmós, which means "gnashing of teeth". There are actually a number of different ways that the problem may be named. Basically, it refers to a process where the teeth or jaw is involuntary clinched shut or ground together. By ground together, I mean that the jaw is clenched shut and then manipulated back and forth.

Experts believe that it affects over 1 million people in the U.S. alone. While it is very common, only about 15% of the affected population end up having long term issues. An equal opportunity disorder, it affects both men and women as well as most every nationality. Due to the health care issues in Third World countries, not very much is known about Bruxism in those areas.

Bruxism brings with it a number of potential problems including:

Dental damage - Over time the grinding wears down the tooth surfaces. Once the enamel is weakened, the affected teeth are far more susceptible to cavities and decay. In addition to the decay issues, the involved teeth can also become overly sensitive causing pain when exposed to hot or cold temperatures. If the wear is severe, it can erode the enamel and expose the softer dentin. Dentin is very sensitive and this condition leads to extreme pain. In extreme cases, the impacted tooth or teeth will either have to extracted or undergo a complete root canal process.

Jaw pain - Over time, the clinching can cause also cause pain in the jaw area. This pain generally results from the repeated, long term pressure associated with Bruxism. The pain can be muscular based or bone based. in some cases, it's believed that the repeated motion causes something in the jaw joint akin to carpal tunnel syndrome in the wrist.

TMJ - TMJ is an acronym for temporomandibular joint disorder. This disorder is characterized by pain, headaches, and myofascial pain. Typically TMJ sufferers have pain during mastication (chewing) that may be accompanied by a pop or popping sound. It is believed that the popping sound is disc displacement where one or both sides of the mandible (jaw bone) sort of dislocate due to either misalignment or joint degeneration. TMJ is fairly complex and deserves more explanation that is covered here. This site has some excellent information on TMJ and it's causes.

Symptoms also associated with Bruxism:

• Morning headaches
• Facial muscle and nerve pain (known as myofascial)
• Earache
• Sinus pain
• Tinnitus (ringing in the ear)
• Vertigo
• Neck pain
• Sleep Issues (poor sleep, insomnia, daytime fatigue)
• Stress or tension
• Depression
• Eating disorders

Note that Bruxism symptoms are part of a cascading scenario where one symptom can leads or intertwine with another. For example, a base symptom is poor sleep. Well poor sleep generally leads to some form of insomnia which can be associated with fatigue and depression. The base Bruxism symptoms can cascade to other symptoms or disorders. Bruxism has been tied to disorders such as long term insomnia, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome, Fibromyalgia, extreme fatigue, etc.)

In the medical world, there are a number of beliefs as to what causes Bruxism. One basic disagreement amongst physicians involves the classification of it. Is Bruxism a reflex or a disorder? The generally consensus seems to be that Bruxism is a sleep disorder that is triggered by anxiety or stress. It is also thought that it may be a symptom in and of itself of disorders like:

• IBS
• Acid Reflex (acid coming up in the esophagus burns making the jaw clinch)
• Chronic fatigue
• Fibromyalgia
• ADD (especially in child based Bruxism)

At the end of the day, there is no universally accepted cause of Bruxism. There are a number of medical theories, but no concrete causal evidence has been identified.

Currently there are only 3 or so treatment methods that physicians and dental professionals typically utilize:

Prescription drugs - The theory here is that since Bruxism is believed to be anxiety based, nighttime anxiety medication can be used to lessen the symptoms. A number of prescription drugs are issued to help treat Bruxism and they include mild anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs, and relaxation/sleep medications. Do they work? My experience has been that they lessen the effects of the issue and help manage it, but don't really solve the problem . Most of those prescriptions also come with some side effects that you may or may not want to deal with. If this is an option you want to try, see your physician and discuss those possibilities with them.

Mouthguards/splints - Both mouthguards and splints are devices that are tailor made by your dentist or oral health professional. They are designed to eliminate the tooth to tooth contact and provide a cushion of sorts when the jaw contracts. I wore one for nearly 4 years and never could ascertain if I really benefited or not. There is some literature in the dental and oral field that questions the effectiveness of these types of treatments (although they are a nice revenue stream for most dental professionals). As I've seen it work for some, I wouldn't rule it out as a possible treatment.

Biofeedback - This solution has gained some popularity over time and is now offered as a mainstream solution. When first pioneered, access to a biofeedback machine was restricted to the wealthy so it wasn't introduced to the masses until biofeedback machines became far more affordable. The biofeedback approach sounds complicated, but is actually a simple premise. Use biofeedback to trigger some type of alarm when the Bruxism is detected. It's believed that this creates a sort of Pavlovian response to stop the grinding when the alarm is activated. This is another treatment method where the medical community jury is still out on. It's effectiveness has been debated for years. When my own Bruxism was at it's worst, I actually tried a biofeedback device that sounded an alarm when my jaws clinched together with a certain amount of force. I wore it over a two week period and the only thing I learned was that I have trouble sleeping when an alarm sounds. Zero help with my grinding. 

So what does work to help with Bruxism? To be honest, I tried most everything on the market as I had a pretty severe case that caused a number of additional issues including a root canal (loved that), sleep problems, and these crazy headaches that pretty much took me out of commission. I was desperate so I tried most every "solution" that I had access to (even that stupid biofeedback). I'll give you a solution that worked for me and will probably do the same for you. I had a few friends from a TMJ support group who didn't get good results, but most people seem to get some serious relief from it. It's a book that can be found here. If it doesn't work for you, it comes with a full refund.

Even if you don't try the book, keep looking for a solution and don't let any physician or dentist tell you that you'll "just have to live with it". That's crap. I never took that as legit answer and neither should you.