Why do i suddenly feel compelled to grind my teeth during the day?

Stress Bad Bite: Stress during your day can cause you to clench and grind your teeth. Also a bad bite, or a bite that is off can cause you to try and equilibrate your bite. If one tooth is too high, you might try to "grind it down" by grinding.

Many reasons: The 1st reason that comes to mind is stress. However malocclusion, a bad bite, can cause you to grind your teeth. If you do grind or clench you can cause severe wear of the teeth, damage to the supporting bone and gums, and damage to the jaw joints. Ask your family dentist to refer you to an occlusion expert, an orthodontist, for evaluation before you do damage.

Para function: Daytime grinding is a form of para function and is usually related to stress. You should look at stress levels and daily habits such as caffeine intake or drug side effects. Keeping a daily log to determine what you are doing when you are aware of grinding and then make changes can be very effective. Malocclusion is not the cause of your grinding but it will be effected by it.