What happens if i grind my teeth while i have braces?

Communicate this!: You should let your orthodontist know. They may be able to place bonded stops in order to keep your teeth slightly apart or provide an appliance for you to wear during treatment so that the risk of damaging your teeth or stressing the muscles and jaw joints is minimized.

Not much: Grinding or bruxism is so very common, that many or most patients do it at some level. Grinding of teeth can cause premature attrition to the enamel and that is not good, however; with orthodontics the teeth are minutely but constantly in motion, so the wear will be dispersed in different areas. Also, the minor discomfort of braces may make you less likely to grind your teeth. Good luck!

Breakage: You might break off some braces or wear your teeth against them. It's best to ask your orthodontic specialist if a splint/nightguard is recommended for nighttime bruxism to protect both your braces and your teeth.

Probably not much: Because your teeth change so much during orthodontic movement, grinding tends to decrease while braces are in place. If grinding persists, some damage to the braces may occur requiring adjustment of the appliance or placement of adjuncts to move your teeth apart. Don't worry. Orthodontists are used to managing problems like this.

Why grind?: The most important question is why are you grinding your teeth. It may be that the orthodontic treatments may or may not be treating your bite where your joints and muscles need to function. You need to find out if the bite, joint and muscle position are in harmony, or is grinding a possible red flag that things are not in balance.

Nothing to braces: But grinding will damage your teeth. I would discuss with your orthodontist.