“I don’t grind my teeth”  As a dentist do you know how often we hear this statement?  Research suggests that 100% of people grind their teeth sometime in their lives.  Most of us regularly grind our teeth at night during sleep, called Bruxism.  Only a small population does this rarely.  For many, Bruxism is connected with stress in our lives and expressed as night time grinding of teeth during sleep.  For others Bruxism is like a program in our Central Nervous System that runs every night.  The problem is this occurs during sleep so most people are unaware that they possess this habit.  Unfortunately for your teeth Bruxism is very destructive.  Minimal tooth wear occurs from chewing and eating over the course of a life time but Bruxism can cause significant tooth wear in a short time destroying your teeth and breaking any existing dental work. The most apparent place for you to see wear from Brusism is on your front teeth.  If your teeth are getting shorter and becoming almost see through or constantly chipping along the edges you are grinding your teeth.  This can lead to other problems such as TMJ or occlusion problems.  Fortunately there are preventative and restorative options to correct wear from Bruxism and give you a beautiful smile.