As bruxism causes the upper and lower teeth to wear against each other it leads to gradual shortening and chipping of the biting surfaces of your back teeth and the edges of your front teeth. This is a process called attrition and can cause sensitivity, fractures and affect the appearance of your teeth. The pressure of the upper and lower teeth can also lead to a process called “abfraction”. Abfraction is where the enamel adjacent to your gums “flakes away” due to the pressure and flexing forces placed on your teeth when grinding, and causes notches that may be shallow and or sometimes very deep forming along your gumline. For a long time these notches were thought to be caused by over zealous tooth brushing, however, we now know that most of these are caused by bruxism. These notches can become very sensitive to cold, acids and sweet or if inadequately cleaned, decay can occur.Bruxism can also lead to strain and injury to the jaw joint (TMJ joint) and associated muscles. This can lead to pain, clicking or locking of the joint or muscular headaches.