Teeth Grinding Treatment (Bruxism)
in Chesterfield, MO
 If you wake up with a sore jaw, dull headaches, or tooth sensitivity that doesn't have an obvious cause, teeth grinding may be the explanation, and our team in Chesterfield, MO treats it routinely. The medical name for chronic teeth grinding is bruxism, and most people who do it don't realize they're doing it because most of the grinding happens during sleep. Left alone, it wears down enamel, cracks teeth, irritates the jaw joint, and can change the shape of your bite over time.
The good news is that bruxism is straightforward to manage once we identify it. A custom night guard, made specifically for your bite, takes the force off your teeth during sleep. If there's a related cause (a misaligned bite, sleep-disordered breathing, high stress), we work that into the plan. Most patients see improvement in jaw soreness within the first few weeks.
Bruxism overlaps with TMJ disorders, but they're not the same. TMJ specifically refers to the joint and the muscles around it; grinding is a behavior that can cause TMJ symptoms or be caused by them. We address both, and a treatment plan for one usually involves checking on the other.
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What Is Bruxism?
 Bruxism is the clinical term for habitual grinding, clenching, or gnashing of teeth. It splits into two patterns: awake bruxism (clenching during the day, often during concentration or stress) and sleep bruxism (grinding during sleep, often without the person ever knowing it's happening). Sleep bruxism does most of the dental damage because the forces involved are higher than what people produce when consciously chewing.
The causes vary. Stress and anxiety drive a lot of cases, both daytime and nighttime. Bite issues that leave teeth not quite fitting together properly are another common factor. Sleep-disordered breathing, including snoring and sleep apnea, often shows up alongside grinding because the body uses jaw movement as a way to reopen the airway during the night. Some medications, particularly certain antidepressants and stimulants, can also contribute.
Signs You May Be Grinding
Most patients we treat for bruxism didn't come in for grinding specifically. They came in for a chipped tooth, a dull morning headache, or sensitivity that had crept in over months. The signs that prompt us to ask about grinding include:
- Worn or flattened tooth surfaces, especially on the back molars
- Teeth that have started to look shorter than they used to
- Hairline cracks in enamel, sometimes only visible on the intraoral camera
- Tightness or soreness in the jaw muscles, particularly in the morning
- Headaches that wake you up or that you have at the start of most days
- Tooth sensitivity to cold, which often signals enamel loss
- A partner who's mentioned hearing grinding sounds at night
If two or three of these match what you're noticing, grinding is worth ruling out at your next exam. We catch most of these signs at a routine dental exam using the intraoral camera and digital X-rays. Cold sensitivity in particular often points to enamel wear, which we usually approach as part of broader tooth sensitivity treatment.
Your Bruxism Care Team in Chesterfield
Wildhorse Dental is led by Dr. Dhaniele Miller, DDS, who graduated from UMKC School of Dentistry in 2013 and took over the practice in 2021 after Dr. Larson's retirement. Bruxism cases are a regular part of her practice, often arriving as worn enamel, chipped restorations, or jaw pain that patients hadn't connected to grinding; full background on her bio.
Dr. Dan Miller, DDS, has been practicing dentistry since 2010 and also sees bruxism patients at our office. He shares the focus on continuing education, particularly around bite analysis, which is the technical name for how teeth come together and where grinding produces the damage. More on his bio.
Diagnosing and treating bruxism is something we handle as part of the family practice we've built since 2000. Most patients first hear about grinding during a routine family dentistry visit when something looks off, then come back for a separate appointment to fit a custom night guard if treatment is needed. The same team that did the initial diagnosis follows up on it at every six-month checkup afterward.
Diagnosing and Treating Bruxism
 Treating bruxism starts with a complete picture of what's happening, not just an assumption that grinding is the cause. Most cases get sorted out across two or three appointments, depending on whether you also need underlying issues like sleep-disordered breathing addressed.
- Comprehensive exam and bite analysis – We take a close look at wear patterns using the intraoral camera, evaluate your bite, and palpate the jaw muscles. Digital X-rays show us hairline fractures below the gumline, and the diagnodent laser picks up early enamel breakdown at the surface, which is sometimes the first sign that grinding has worn through the protective layer.
- Identifying the cause – Stress, bite misalignment, and airway issues all produce different patterns. Wear that's symmetrical and worse on the canines often points to nighttime clenching; wear concentrated on one side can indicate a bite imbalance. We discuss any history of poor sleep, snoring, or daytime fatigue that might suggest sleep apnea is involved.
- Custom night guard fitting – If a mouth guard is the right call, we take impressions and have the lab fabricate one to your specific bite. We fit it to your teeth so it stays in place all night and absorbs grinding force without falling out the way drugstore options do. We check the fit at delivery and adjust if needed.
- Bite adjustment if indicated – For some patients, a small adjustment to the way teeth come together makes a meaningful difference. This involves selectively reshaping high spots so the bite distributes force more evenly. It's a quick adjustment that we can usually handle at the same visit.
- Sleep apnea referral if relevant – We don't diagnose sleep apnea; that requires a sleep study with a medical doctor. If your symptoms suggest the airway is part of the picture, we coordinate the referral and can fit an oral appliance for sleep apnea after the diagnosis is confirmed.
- Restoring damage that already happened – Years of grinding can leave behind cracked teeth, worn enamel, or fractured restorations. We restore those with a dental filling for minor wear or a dental crown when too much tooth structure has been lost for a filling alone.
Follow-up matters. We check the night guard for wear at every six-month cleaning and adjust or replace it as needed. Most custom guards last several years before the material starts to break down.
Benefits of Treating Bruxism
Most patients who address grinding notice the difference within a few weeks. The benefits go beyond just stopping the wear, though that's the most measurable one.
- Your enamel stops disappearing – A properly fitted custom guard takes the force of grinding off your teeth and onto the appliance instead. The wear we'd otherwise be repairing every couple of years stops accumulating. We track this at routine cleanings by comparing wear patterns over time.
- Morning jaw soreness goes away – The clenching forces that build up overnight hit the guard instead of the joint. We schedule a two-week check after fitting to make sure the relief is actually showing up; if it isn't, we adjust.
- Tension headaches often improve – Many of the headaches that show up first thing in the morning come from sustained jaw clenching. We see this most clearly in patients who originally came in for headache concerns rather than grinding.
- Existing restorations last longer – If you have crowns, fillings, or veneers, grinding shortens their lifespan and can cause them to fail early. Protecting them with a guard means fewer redo visits and replacement costs over the years we see you.
- Existing damage gets a stable starting point for repair – Once the grinding is controlled, we can rebuild any worn or cracked teeth knowing the new restorations won't immediately face the same forces that caused the original damage.
How quickly any individual patient feels these changes depends on how long they've been grinding and how consistent they are with wearing the guard. We track progress at your routine checkups.
Why Choose Our Team for Bruxism Care
Wildhorse Dental has been a family-focused practice in Chesterfield since 2000. Bruxism shows up in patients across every age group we treat (kids, working adults, retirees), so the diagnosis and treatment workflow is something we run regularly.
Our diagnostic workup uses the technology we already have in the office for routine exams. The intraoral camera shows wear patterns at high resolution, the diagnodent laser picks up early enamel breakdown that's hard to see with the eye alone, and digital X-rays catch hairline fractures below the gumline. This isn't extra equipment we order in for bruxism cases; it's part of every comprehensive exam.
Custom night guards are made by an outside lab, but the impression-taking, fit-checking, and follow-up adjustment all happen here. The fit matters more than the brand of the guard, and the adjustment is what makes the difference between a guard you'll wear consistently and one that ends up in a drawer.
Because we're a general practice, we handle the downstream restorations too. If grinding has already caused a dental crown to crack or a tooth to fracture, we restore it in the same office that's tracking the underlying cause. The records stay in one place, and the same team manages both sides of the problem.
For patients without dental insurance, our Wellness Plan applies a 15% discount to the night guard fee and most other procedures. It's not insurance, but it makes the in-house option more affordable for families managing care without coverage.
Bruxism Treatment Cost and Financing
The biggest cost item in bruxism treatment is the custom night guard itself. The exam and bite evaluation are billed as part of a regular dental visit; the guard is its own line item because it's custom-fabricated by a lab.
The price varies based on the type of guard. Soft guards work for milder cases and run less than hard acrylic guards designed for heavy grinding. Patients with more advanced bruxism typically need the harder material because the soft variant won't hold up to nighttime forces. If you also need a dental filling or crown to restore damage that's already happened, those are billed separately and depend on the work involved. We give you a written estimate before any restoration starts.
Most dental insurance plans cover at least part of a custom night guard, often under "occlusal guard" benefits. We're in-network with Delta Dental, and our front office team can run a benefits check on any other plan before you commit. For patients spreading the cost over time, our insurance and financing options include the Wellness Plan discount and other payment arrangements.
Schedule Your Teeth Grinding Consultation
If your jaw aches in the morning, your teeth are worn down, or you suspect you're grinding at night, the next step is a comprehensive exam and bite analysis. Call Wildhorse Dental at 636-537-0447 or request an appointment online. We're at 150 Long Rd., #100 in Chesterfield, MO 63005. You can also contact us with any questions before booking.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I'm grinding my teeth at night?
Most people don't know they're grinding at night because it happens during sleep. The clearest external sign is a partner who hears teeth-on-teeth noises. The clearest internal sign is morning jaw soreness or a headache that's gone by mid-morning. We can also confirm grinding from wear patterns at your dental exam, even if no one's mentioned it before. If two or more of those things sound familiar, it's worth bringing up at your next visit.
Will an over-the-counter mouth guard work?
Drugstore mouth guards aren't a real solution. The bigger problem is fit: an ill-fitting guard can shift your bite, irritate your gums, or actually make symptoms worse over time. A custom guard made from a lab impression of your specific bite is the version that protects without creating new problems. We don't recommend the over-the-counter route as anything more than a stopgap for a few nights.
Do I have TMJ disorder or just bruxism?
They overlap, but they're different. TMJ refers specifically to the jaw joint and the muscles around it, and TMJ disorder is a dysfunction of that joint. Bruxism is the behavior of grinding or clenching itself, which can cause TMJ symptoms or be caused by an underlying TMJ issue. We treat both, and the TMJ writeup covers the joint-specific symptoms that often come along with grinding.
How much does a custom night guard cost?
Cost depends on the type of guard, and most patients won't know which they need until we see the wear patterns at the exam. Soft guards for occasional clenching cost less than hard acrylic guards built for heavy grinding, and a guard built for severe nighttime grinding is the most involved fabrication. The number we quote includes the impressions, the lab fabrication, the fitting visit, and the first adjustment if it's needed.
Does dental insurance cover a night guard?
Most plans cover custom night guards under "occlusal guard" benefits, often at 50% to 80% after deductible. Coverage tends to be more straightforward than for cosmetic procedures because night guards are coded as medically necessary protection against bruxism damage. For patients without coverage, our Wellness Plan applies a 15% discount to the night guard fee.
Will I have to wear the night guard forever?
Most patients wear the guard nightly long-term. Bruxism typically isn't curable in the way you'd cure an infection; it's manageable, the way a chronic condition is. The guard prevents damage but doesn't change the underlying tendency to grind. That said, if the grinding is tied to a specific cause we can address (sleep apnea, a bite imbalance, a stressful life chapter), the long-term picture can shift.
Can grinding be a sign of sleep apnea?
Sometimes, yes. Nighttime grinding is one of the body's responses to airway obstruction during sleep, so patients with undiagnosed sleep apnea often grind heavily. Other signs that point to it include loud snoring, witnessed pauses in breathing, and excessive daytime fatigue. We don't diagnose sleep apnea ourselves, but we'll refer you for a sleep study if your symptoms point that way.
What happens if I don't treat bruxism?
Untreated grinding tends to get worse over time because the wear is cumulative. The teeth that show wear today will continue to wear unless something absorbs the force. Beyond enamel loss and tooth fractures, patients can develop muscle soreness that radiates into the temples and neck, and the jaw joint can start producing the clicking or popping that signals TMJ involvement. Restorations to repair the damage typically cost more than a night guard would have, which is why we recommend addressing it as soon as we see signs.
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