Dangers of Clenching
So you might think “well if I clench and don’t grind, it’s no problem, because I’m not wearing down my teeth”. Unfortunately, repeated clenching can bring about lots of problems, some of which people don’t even realize come from clenching. These problems include:
- Migraine headaches
- TMJ disorder
- Tooth pain
- Facial muscle and nerve pain
- Jaw pain
- Loose teeth (which can lead to an abscess and require a root canal)
- Cracked teeth (which may need to be extracted and replaced with a bridge or implant)
- Chipped teeth (which may require a crown)
- Neck pain
- Ringing in the ear (tinnitus)
- Sensitive teeth
- Undesirable change in appearance from increased jaw muscle size
One cracked tooth from a bout of clenching in your sleep can wind you up having to get the tooth extracted, and an implant put in. A single bout of teeth clenching may result in the need for a tooth extraction or in some cases an implant. If you are lucky and you go to an inexpensive and highly skilled dentist, it could end up costing you $3000. If you are less lucky, and you have an expensive dentist (like my friend Joel in Los Angeles) the dental bill for your one cracked tooth will wind up being about $9,000.
