A bite plate is a removable dental appliance made from acrylic or a dual laminated material which is hard on the outside, and softer on the inside. It is used to protect the teeth and jaw joints from damage due to clenching and grinding (bruxism) unconsciously. The plate covers all the teeth.
It is typically worn at night while sleeping to stop grinding. It is usually not recommended for children.
People who clench a lot can wear it during the day time. It’s usually people who work on a computer for extended hours.
Common causes:
- Stress or anxiety
- Sleep disorders (sleep apnea)
- Pain and illness
- Misaligned teeth
- Caffeine or alcohol consumption
- Certain medications (antidepressants)
Symptoms:
- Headaches, especially when you wake up in the morning, and feel the pain at the back of your eyes.
- Jaw pain or tightness
- Worn down or chipped teeth
- Tooth sensitivity for cold and sweet things
- Sore or tight jaw muscles
- Stiff neck and shoulders
- Click or popping of the jaw
The difference between clinching and grinding:
Grinding:
- It is the rubbing of teeth back and forth against each other, mostly while sleeping.
- An audible grinding noise is heard by a partner.
- It is visible by the loss of enamel, especially on the front teeth, where you can see a darker colour line on the tips of the mandibular (bottom) teeth in the middle. This colour is the colour of the dentine, underneath the enamel, and contains the nerve, that’s why the teeth are sensitive to cold and sweet things.
- Teeth are chipped in the front.
- The back teeth also have enamel lost on certain spots where the upper and lower teeth connect.
Clinching:
- It’s the tightly holding of the upper and lower teeth against each other with movement sideways.
- It usually happens during day time, but can occur during the night time as well.
- It is a silent noise.
- The back teeth are involved, more than the front teeth, which look flat, without any cusps, enamel is also worn down.
Treatment:
The first treatment of grinding/clinching is a bite plate.
A laboratory custom made bite plate does have the best results. Unfortunately, an over the counter bite plate is not recommended, because the fit is not precise, and can cause more problems to the situation. If you are a clincher, the over the counter bite plate will worsen your clinching.
Cleaning your bite plate:
- Brush with sunlight liquid, but just make sure you rinse it thoroughly.
- Keep the acrylic bite plate with a small amount of water in a small container.
- The dual laminated bite plate doesn’t need any water for storage.
In general:
A bite plate can’t fix all your grinding and clinching problems in all cases. Sometimes you will need to think about a permanent solution. An incorrect bite causes grinding or clinching, therefore orthodontic treatment will be the better option, before you develop temporomandibular joint dysfunction problems that are very difficult to treat.
A bite plate is never easy to use in the beginning, it takes up to 5 nights to get used to it. Every time you are grinding your teeth you will wake up. Once you are used to sleeping with it, you will experience a good night’s sleep, without waking up with a headache and stiff neck in the morning, and it will protect your tooth structure.
Be careful of your dogs, they love to try the plate on themselves!
