Definition: Bruxism means the clenching or grinding of your teeth, especially at night. Clenching refers to tightly clamping your top and bottom teeth together The force of clenching causes stressful pressure on the muscles, tissues and jaw. Jaw disorders, jaw pain, soreness, headaches, earaches, damaged teeth and other problems can result from bruxism. See "TMJ" or temporomandibular joint problems.
If clenching causes jaw pain, it can disrupt sleeping and eating, lead to other dental problems or create TMJ problems. Nightly grinding can also disturb sleeping partners.
Pronunciation: Brux - ism
Also Known As: Grinding
