Aghh, it's like nails on a chalkboard!
My little foster staffy (soon to be foster failure?) grinds her teeth at night. Not constantly, but when she does that "I'm getting sleepy" lip licking/yawning, she'll grind her teeth when she closes her mouth. For the time being, her teeth haven't suffered any major damage, but I can imagine years down the line when she's ground the enamel off, there'll be some issues.
I know that bruxism can be a sign of pain, and she does have hip dysplasia. I don't know how much discomfort she's actually in from it though. She's very energetic, playful, and active (as active as I'll allow her to get...). She's currently taking Cosequin DS, is kept in a thin body condition, and we go on daily 1.5-2 mile walks (no hills, no running, no obstacles whatsoever). I live on the third floor apartment and she has no issues at all going up and down the stairs. She can jump on furniture and holds her own when wrestling with Chance and doesn't seem to be in any pain at all. I can manipulate her hips in all directions, and so long as I don't crank her hips all the way back into hyperextension, she lets me easily move her back legs anyway I want. I know that the bullies tend to have higher pain threshold, but if she was in pain from her hips, I would suspect she'd show me in other ways...
She had scabies before she came to live with me, and that was cleared without any signs of recurrence. Bruxism can also be caused by anxiety, stress, etc. She rubs her nose on the floor when she gets anxious or bored - something I've suspected she learned to do when she was very itchy and then became a compulsive-type thing. Maybe teeth grinding is part of that?
I guess my question is - does anyone else have experience with this? Can it be stopped? I've tried distracting her when she does it by calling her name, but that doesn't seem to do it.
Grinding teeth
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LeonilCraig
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Re: Grinding teeth
Teeth grinding is primarily caused by misaligned teeth. That is often genetic in nature, although acquired sores or lesions in the mouth can result in a similar phenomenon. Stress is also a contributing factor, as is the case with human bruxism. Gastrointestinal discomfort also results in bruxism and has accompanying bouts of poor appetite or vomiting....
Re: Grinding teeth
I have absolutely no idea, rnor, sorry. However I did have an old boyfriend who did this in his sleep and it is excruciating! So I feel a little of your pain. That's all I can contribute, though, sorry.
He did do it more when he was stressed, so I wonder if rather than just tackling it head on she will just start to do it less when she's more settled and starts to relax?
He did do it more when he was stressed, so I wonder if rather than just tackling it head on she will just start to do it less when she's more settled and starts to relax?
Re: Grinding teeth
Excessive tooth grinding is also called Bruxism. Its major cause is not eating and talking. But it is caused due to psychosocial and genetic factors as founded by many studies.
dentist Hermosa Beach
dentist Hermosa Beach
Re: Grinding teeth
I think you are on the right track. as for prevention/stopping/changing, that is going to be a tough one. you have two challenges. one finding the root cause. and two, undoing years? months? of practiced behavior. "one" or "two" redirection won't change the behavior over night as you know.
I personally won't discount discomfort or pain being a factor just yet. I know you describe exams you did to try and determine pain. but when did you do them? while the teeth grinding was going on? after a walk? randomly throughout the day?
on the non pain side, you may need to dive a bit more into the possibility of anxiety or compulsive issues or a combination of both. IF things point this way, particularly if there appears to be a genuine compulsive component, she maybe be a candidate for medication to assist in resolving this.
for more information on exploring the possibility of compulsive issues I would suggest trying to make contact with Alice Moon-Fanelli, Ph.D., CAAB http://certifiedanimalbehaviorist.com/bios/amoonf.html as she has been studying this issue in dogs for quite sometime. I recently listened to a webinar where she was the speaker, fascinating stuff. I don't know if she is still with vet hospital listed in her bio, but if not I know who to ask for how to make contact with her.
I personally won't discount discomfort or pain being a factor just yet. I know you describe exams you did to try and determine pain. but when did you do them? while the teeth grinding was going on? after a walk? randomly throughout the day?
on the non pain side, you may need to dive a bit more into the possibility of anxiety or compulsive issues or a combination of both. IF things point this way, particularly if there appears to be a genuine compulsive component, she maybe be a candidate for medication to assist in resolving this.
for more information on exploring the possibility of compulsive issues I would suggest trying to make contact with Alice Moon-Fanelli, Ph.D., CAAB http://certifiedanimalbehaviorist.com/bios/amoonf.html as she has been studying this issue in dogs for quite sometime. I recently listened to a webinar where she was the speaker, fascinating stuff. I don't know if she is still with vet hospital listed in her bio, but if not I know who to ask for how to make contact with her.
