The Lion's Pride Volume 10 (Spring 2018) | Page 55

What Is Bruxism, and Do I Really Need a Nightguard?
Ashley Kirkham
I am currently in the process of completing my prerequisites to be able
to apply to the Dental Hygiene program at LWTech. I started this
journey about a year ago and will be applying in 2019, in hopes to
become part of the new graduating class of 2021 with my dream job. I
graduated from LWIT in 2010 as a Dental Assistant and continue to
build my knowledge in the field, which is ever changing. When deciding
on a research topic, it took me no time to know that understanding
nightguards more was the answer. Enjoy!
It’s that time of year again when I need to go to the dentist for my
routine, semi-annual dental cleaning; however, this appointment is
different than the previous ones. As I sit and wait for my appointment I
am handed a new health history form. This is not the strange part – the
questions are new, unusual and quite frankly hard to answer: “Have you
ever been told by your significant other that you make grinding noises
with your teeth while you sleep at night?” “When you wake up, have
you ever experienced a sore jaw or headache?” Initially I answered no,
but as I progressed through filling out the two lengthy pages of
questions, I began thinking to myself; the answers were yes. I must
admit, I am a dental assistant at this particular office and have been in
the dental field for over eight years. However, before you start to think
that I don’t know much about these questions, this was about two years
ago when our doctor started hearing about the recent studies being done
on bruxism and occlusal wear on teeth: Hence the reason for the entire
office staff filling out the new and improved health forms. With the new