Repeated grinding puts considerable pressure on the teeth and jaw. [Courtesy]
Sleep is supposed to be the time when the body switches off and rests, but the body can still be surprisingly busy while we are unconscious. We may talk, move, change positions, snore or even walk without knowing it. Sometimes, the clues only come from someone sleeping nearby who notices something we cannot hear or feel ourselves.
For some people, that discovery comes in the form of a strange, repetitive sound in the night: the grinding of teeth.
It can sound so harsh that someone listening may struggle to describe it. One person may compare it to scraping or cracking, while the person sleeping remains completely unaware. In some cases, a partner or family member is the first to notice. In others, the evidence appears later in the form of morning headaches, a painful jaw, sensitive teeth or teeth that have gradually become flattened or chipped.
There are also people who discover it through technology. Sleep-monitoring applications can record sounds made during the night, providing an unusual window into what the body is doing while the mind is switched off.
