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Bruxism Treatment in Rockville, MD

Have you ever awakened with sore teeth or a sore jaw? Does it seem like some of your teeth are getting rough or chipped? Do you ever get headaches that start at the temples? These are all signs of bruxism, a condition causing a person to grind their teeth throughout the day or night. 


While the damage from bruxism may be paused with a temporary solution, the best solution is one that resolves bruxism permanently. When the dentists at StarBrite Dental diagnose your bruxism, they will recommend the treatment that gives you a solution that fully resolves this problem. That’s the only standard of care accepted at StarBrite Dental—a full resolution of any dental problems. 


Bruxism that continues for years can destroy your smile. The caring dentists at StarBrite Dental have your healthy, beautiful smile as our priority.

Awake Bruxism and Sleep-Related Bruxism

Bruxism can occur both during the day and while a person sleeps. Awake bruxism may have gone on for so long that it’s possible for it to happen without a person even being aware of it. 


The most damaging bruxism is sleep bruxism. Night after night, a person suffering from sleep bruxism clenches or grinds their teeth in their sleep. After months or years, enormous damage can occur. The teeth can become so severely worn down that dentures are needed. Some teeth may become cracked, causing them to eventually fracture. Dental work such as bridges, crowns, and dental implants can be damaged or broken.


That’s not the only problem that can result from bruxism. Many people develop jaw pain or tight jaw muscles that make it hard to open or close their mouths completely. The teeth are likely to become sensitive, or they may begin to hurt. A person suffering from bruxism could also feel pain in their neck, face, or even ear. If you notice any of these signs, it’s important to call our office, so we can schedule you for an examination as soon as possible. 


For all these reasons, it’s so important to get treatment as soon as bruxism is identified. Every time a patient visits StarBrite Dental, our dentists will look carefully for any signs of the kind of wear and tear caused by bruxism before a patient’s teeth can suffer any serious harm.


If you are diagnosed with bruxism, we will show you the signs of damage that are starting to show up and educate you on why they are happening. At every step of your dental care, we want you to understand your health and exactly why treatment is recommended.

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“Very nice, professional, calming and knowledgeable. I appreciate everything Dr. Seifi and her staff have done for me. The first day I came in, she was able to squeeze me into her schedule to start my urgently needed dental work.
Highly recommended.”

-B. B.

Teeth-Grinding Symptoms

close up of woman about to place invisalign
custom-fit mouthguard for teeth grinding

There are many signs of awake bruxism or sleep bruxism. If you notice symptoms like the ones below, call us right away for an examination to diagnose teeth-grinding damage. You may notice that these symptoms are worse when you first wake up in the morning because you have been clenching your teeth at night. As you move around, your facial and jaw muscles may loosen up, relieving your jaw pain.

 

  • Jaw stiffness
  • Jaw or facial pain
  • Tight jaw muscles
  • Sore teeth or gums
  • Headaches that start at the temples
  • Earaches

What Our Patients Are Saying About Us

"Extremely impressed with this office ever since my initial consultation. The doctor showed me what improvements needed to be made in order to get healthy but to also achieve the aesthetic results I was seeking. "

- Pito S.

★★★★★

"Extremely happy with the team here at StarBrite Dental. For the first time, I feel in charge of my oral health. I came in for a consultation and Dr. Maryam Seifi explained exactly what was going on with my teeth/overall oral health and options that I had to get healthy again. Highly recommend this office."

- Jose S.

★★★★★

"Great dental office. I forgot about taking care of my oral health for quite some time but the staff at Starbrite continued to follow up with me to make sure I kept up with my dental treatment and maintenance. Wonderful service and care from Dr. Seifi and her team!!

- Noel J.

★★★★★

The Right Way to Get Mouth Guards for Teeth Grinding

At StarBrite Dental, we take great care to carefully design and manufacture custom-fit mouth guards for our patients who suffer jaw-clenching symptoms. We know that the right diagnosis and bruxism treatment can resolve a patient’s problem fully and eliminate their pain and the deterioration of their smiles. For that reason, every examination is thorough, and our diagnosis is based on our decades of experience. 


Consult us with the confidence that your comfort and the quality of your care are extremely important to us. Our dentists and staff are carefully selected and trained to give you the best experience every time you visit our office, whether you are coming for bruxism treatment or any other care. 


The first step in your recovery from bruxism is a careful examination to find out why you are grinding your teeth at night or during the day. The following causes may increase the risk for grinding teeth during sleep:


  • Medications such as antidepressants
  • Heavy consumption of caffeinated beverages or alcohol
  • Recreational drugs, particularly stimulants
  • Tobacco use
  • Excessive tension or stress
  • Sleep apnea
  • Gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD)
  • Parkinson’s disease


As you can see, there might be more to be addressed than simply providing a night guard for nighttime teeth grinding. When you receive bruxism treatment at StarBrite Dental, we want to understand why you are having a problem, so we can treat the right cause. If there are dietary or lifestyle changes that need to be made, we will help you understand the benefit available to you from these changes. We want to make it as easy as possible to eliminate bruxism and the problems it can cause. 


We will always take a comprehensive view of your dental and overall health each time we provide care. Our focus on achieving an excellent result for each patient means we will not rest until your dental situation is resolved. That’s our promise to every patient we see. 


You can see from the list of risk factors above why it’s important to get a professional evaluation of your sleep bruxism. Some dentists may simply provide you with a night guard and leave it at that.


Also, some people struggle with clenching their jaw during the day and so may need mouth guards for daytime use. If a custom-made mouth guard is what you need to resolve your problem, we will provide you with the best mouth guard for your situation, perfectly fit to your upper teeth and lower jaw.

Schedule a Jaw and Bite Examination

If you are experiencing jaw-clenching symptoms or pain call us for a diagnosis

*We DO NOT ACCEPT HMO Insurance, State Insurance, Medicaid/Medicare, or discount plans. Fees apply for services. 

Call (301) 770-1070 Today

Preparing Your Teeth-Grinding Mouth Guard or Night Guard

close up of woman about to place invisalign

As part of our examination, our first step is to carefully examine the alignment of your bite and your jaw. If your teeth are crooked, or you are missing any teeth, correcting that misalignment and restoring missing teeth may be necessary to stop you from grinding teeth. 


If your jaw is not properly aligned, this can not only increase the risk for sleep bruxism, but it also increases the possibility of an inflamed TMJ (temporomandibular joint) near the ear. Inflammation in this area will also affect the muscles in the jaw and face. If these muscles go into spasm, your jaw may lock in an open or closed position accompanied by pain in the face, neck or ear. 


When we prepare your teeth-grinding mouth guard or night guard, we will take all these factors into consideration, so we can correct any problems that might be aggravated by poor alignment of your teeth or jaw. Our dental experts will always do a thorough evaluation before deciding on treatment. If a night guard is not the complete answer, you may simply damage the night guard in your sleep as you grind your teeth. 


The right answer will come from careful examination and diagnosis based on our experience providing bruxism treatment for thousands of other patients. We want you to have a thorough understanding of your treatment plan, which is why we will help you understand the underlying reasons for any care we recommend. 


When we have complete information on your bruxism and have finalized your bruxism treatment plan, your mouth guard or night guard for teeth grinding will then be designed and 3D-printed in a flexible acrylic material so that you have a soft night guard to wear.

Preparing Your Teeth-Grinding Mouth Guard or Night Guard

As part of our examination, our first step is to carefully examine the alignment of your bite and your jaw. If your teeth are crooked, or you are missing any teeth, correcting that misalignment and restoring missing teeth may be necessary to stop you from grinding teeth. 


If your jaw is not properly aligned, this can not only increase the risk for sleep bruxism, but it also increases the possibility of an inflamed TMJ (temporomandibular joint) near the ear. Inflammation in this area will also affect the muscles in the jaw and face. If these muscles go into spasm, your jaw may lock in an open or closed position accompanied by pain in the face, neck or ear. 

When we prepare your teeth-grinding mouth guard or night guard, we will take all these factors into consideration, so we can correct any problems that might be aggravated by poor alignment of your teeth or jaw. Our dental experts will always do a thorough evaluation before deciding on treatment. If a night guard is not the complete answer, you may simply damage the night guard in your sleep as you grind your teeth. 


The right answer will come from careful examination and diagnosis based on our experience providing bruxism treatment for thousands of other patients. We want you to have a thorough understanding of your treatment plan, which is why we will help you understand the underlying reasons for any care we recommend. 


When we have complete information on your bruxism and have finalized your bruxism treatment plan, your mouth guard or night guard for teeth grinding will then be designed and 3D-printed in a flexible acrylic material so that you have a soft night guard to wear.

Schedule a Jaw and Bite Examination!

Request Your Dental Visit

Your Night Guard

your night guard
dental night guard for good quality sleep

Your night guard will be fit into your mouth in our office to ensure that it fits snugly and that it stays comfortable all night long. We will also instruct you on when to wear it and how to take care of it so you get a very long use out of it. The use of properly fitted night guards has enabled many of our patients to end their sleep bruxism and the discomfort and damage that accompany it. 

Comparing Custom Night Guards to Off-the-Shelf Guards

Some patients come to us after they have worn a night guard for teeth grinding that they purchased at a pharmacy. Or perhaps they saw one online that came with elaborate promises. Many of these devices instruct the buyer to boil the device, let it cool for a few moments, and then fit it to their teeth. 


An off-the-shelf solution will never provide the same quality of care as a thorough examination by our experts. This boil-to-shape device can lead to even worse problems than the patient’s original sleep bruxism. After a year or more wearing such a device, a person’s teeth may have shifted or loosened. They may have jaw alignment problems or face or jaw pain. The right answer for bruxism is to get an expert evaluation first, before trying any off-the-shelf solutions. 

There may be a temporary benefit from wearing such off-the-shelf night guards but, over time, there is likely to be more damage than benefit. The dentists at StarBrite Dental have been carefully chosen for their skill and concern for patient comfort and results. Their extensive experience can provide the result you are looking for: permanent resolution of pain and damage resulting from teeth grinding. 


Without an expert evaluation of the shape and alignment of teeth and jaws, it is not possible to properly fit patients for night guards that are beneficial and that don’t also create other problems. 


At StarBrite Dental, we take just as much care when providing the best mouth guards for grinding teeth that we do with any other procedure. We go further than simply fitting you with a mouthpiece—we want to make sure that you understand what bruxism is, what can happen if you are grinding teeth at night, and what the long-term damage can be. When you understand your treatment and have had a chance to ask any questions you have, then you can participate more fully in its resolution. Our staff and dentists are always willing to listen to your concerns.

About Dental Guards for Bruxism Treatment

The night guards we provide are made of the highest-quality, FDA-approved materials designed to both protect your teeth and provide a comfortable fit. Every time we provide a patient with a night guard, that recommendation is based on the many years of training and experience of our dentists. We only have one standard for your care—your complete satisfaction with the resolution of your problem and the protection of your health and your smile.


As we prepare your mouth guard to resolve your teeth grinding, we want to know about any questions you have about your treatment. It is very important to each dentist and staff member in our office that you are comfortable and confident with your treatment. Our insistence on the highest quality of care means that we will always ensure we have the right causes identified for any problem you are experiencing. 


As soon as we have that correct diagnosis, we will then recommend the exact treatment needed to fully protect your health and help you achieve your goal in this situation. 


In some cases of sleep bruxism, the resolution of this problem lies in adjusting the position of the lower jaw in relation to the upper teeth. By moving the lower jaw forward, the muscles of the face and jaw can become more relaxed, which can resolve this problem. It may not seem to you that your lower teeth are in the wrong position, but small misalignment can gradually build into big problems. We have the dental technology and the right imaging equipment to detect these small problems early.

Bruxism May Be a Hidden Problem

If you do not have a partner nearby as you sleep, you may not know that you are bruxing (grinding your teeth at night). Someone sleeping next to you may see that you are grinding your teeth or hear your teeth grating together during the night. If they tell you that you are grinding your teeth, it’s important that you request an evaluation as soon as possible.


Otherwise, you may only find out about this problem because of the signs of teeth-grinding that show up. There is no reason to experience the tight jaw and face muscles or the neck and face pain that can result from sleep bruxism or awake bruxism. Let the bruxism experts at StarBrite Dental provide a thorough examination and analysis of the causes of your problem. 

If you do not schedule an examination as soon as you see those signs and your bruxism continues for a long time, you can wind up with tooth or jaw damage that might require an extensive treatment plan to repair, such as the following: 


  1. Cracked teeth
  2. Broken teeth
  3. Loosened teeth
  4. Tooth pain or sensitivity
  5. Chronically inflamed TMJ
  6. Jaw locked open or shut
  7. Worn or flattened teeth
  8. Teeth ground down to the gum line
  9. Damaged and fractured dental work


A person suffering from severe bruxism that goes on for a long time can destroy their smile. The skilled and experienced dentists at StarBrite Dental can save your smile by providing the right treatment as soon as sleep bruxism or awake bruxism are identified. Please call us for an expert diagnosis. 

You may look at your smile after years of bruxism and realize that your teeth are becoming flatter. Your teeth may have lost the roundness that most people’s teeth have. Problems resulting from bruxism could be structural or they could be cosmetic. 


That’s why bruxism is a dental problem that should be treated at the first moment possible. Worn-down teeth can even change the shape of your face and make you look older. A worst-case scenario with severe sleep related bruxism is having to replace all your teeth with dentures or dental implants. 


If bruxism is halted early, then the minor effects of wear are easier and much less expensive to repair. The experts at StarBrite Dental can soon have your smile sparking and healthy again when treatment is started while the damage is minor. We value the beauty of your smile just as much as you do!

What If Teeth Have Already Suffered Damage?

If we find that your teeth or dental work have suffered damage as a result of your bruxism, we can soon get that problem remedied as well. It could be possible that you may need to replace crowns, veneers, a bridge or partial dentures. We want to hear about your goals for your treatment and your smile, so we are focused on the same result you are. Your goals will be taken into account as we plan your treatment. 


In whatever treatment we provide, we will always propose a complete resolution of any problem that might threaten your smile or dental or oral health now or in the future. We have no other standard of care. We will never propose a solution that simply patches up the problem so that it needs to be addressed again another day. 


We will explain the exact steps needed to restore your smile to a healthy, stable and beautiful condition. It’s important that you understand your choices so you can make any decisions needed. 

Good Dental Health = No Bruxism!

good health no bruxism
dental checkup

Your long-term dental health depends on detecting bruxism as early as possible and treating it properly. If you have any suspicion that you are seeing signs of teeth grinding, please tell us the next time you are in our office. If you are not yet a patient at StarBrite Dental, we will be happy to schedule you for an examination.


As we provide your care, what makes StarBrite Dental different from other practices is our approach: we fully address and resolve a patient’s oral situation rather than provide a temporary fix that only masks the problem. This is true whether you need to eliminate bruxism or receive root canal treatment, care for gum disease, oral surgery, or any other treatment. 


Early bruxism treatment can prevent pain, damage, change to your appearance, and the need for extensive dental repairs. We want to help you prevent more serious problems with early treatment whenever possible. 


Please note that bruxism can occur at any age, even among young children. If your child complains of tooth pain or stiffness or aches in their face, neck, or jaw, we can provide an evaluation to determine if bruxism is the cause. It is important to protect the shape and position of a child’s primary teeth because these teeth are guides for the permanent teeth that will come in later. So bruxism in a young child is just as important to resolve as bruxism in an adult. 


Call us if you need a diagnosis for jaw-clenching or teeth-grinding symptoms or pain in the face, neck, or ears. We are ready to provide the help you need in a comfortable and caring atmosphere. We can help even anxious patients receive the care they need because we go out of our way to reassure and comfort each patient, on every visit. 


There is no reason to put off dental care if there have possibly been unsatisfactory experiences at other dental offices in the past. Our relaxed atmosphere and reassuring staff can make each visit to StarBrite Dental a positive experience. 


Call StarBrite Dental in Rockville, MD, at (301) 780-4192 to schedule your examination.

Schedule a Jaw and Bite Examination!

*We DO NOT ACCEPT HMO Insurance, State Insurance, Medicaid/Medicare, or discount plans. Fees apply for services. 

Evening and Weekend Hours Available

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Thursday
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Saturday
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Sunday
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Office (301) 770-1070

Fax (301) 770-0544

New Patient 24hr Emergency Line:

(301) 377-2186

Existing Patient 24hr Emergency Line:

(240) 832-1606

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