First published: August 2023 Updated: Sept 2026
Most people who grind their teeth find out from someone else first — a partner nudging them awake, or us mentioning it at a check-up before they’ve noticed a thing themselves. It’s one of the most common things we see, and one of the easiest to miss in yourself. Here’s what to look out for.
1. Morning jaw soreness or headaches
If your jaw feels tired or tight when you wake up, or you’re getting headaches that centre around your temples first thing in the morning, that’s a classic pattern. Your jaw muscles have been working hard all night without you knowing.
2. Wear, chips, or cracks you can’t explain
A flattened biting edge, a small chip that “just happened,” or a filling that’s cracked for no obvious reason — these are the kind of things we check for at every appointment, because grinding is very often the real cause behind them.
3. Symptoms that seem to come from somewhere else entirely
Toothache with no cavity in sight. Tooth sensitivity that comes and goes. Neck and shoulder tightness. Even ear discomfort, when a hearing test comes back completely normal. Grinding can sit behind all of these, because the muscles involved connect to more of your head and neck than most people realise.
Daytime clenching you’ve never clocked
Night-time grinding gets most of the attention, but plenty of people clench during the day too — while concentrating at a desk, driving, or under stress — without ever noticing they’re doing it. If your jaw feels tight by the end of a busy day, it’s worth paying attention to.
5. A partner mentioning the noise
If someone’s told you that you grind at night, believe them — even if you’ve never felt a thing. Audible grinding is one of the more reliable signs, and it’s worth raising at your next check-up so we can have a proper look.
Is it linked to anything else?
Sometimes, yes. Night-time grinding can go hand-in-hand with sleep apnoea — if you also snore, gasp, or wake up tired despite a full night’s sleep, it’s worth mentioning to your GP. We don’t diagnose sleep apnoea ourselves (that needs a formal sleep study), but if you’re already diagnosed, we can fit a custom oral appliance as part of managing it. Read more on our Snoring and Sleep Apnoea page.
The causes behind grinding are usually more than one thing at once — stress, sleep, certain medications, caffeine and alcohol timing, an uneven bite, or a daytime habit you’ve picked up without realising. That’s why we start by figuring out what’s actually driving it, rather than assuming it’s just “stress.”
What this doesn’t mean
None of this means grinding is automatically a serious problem — plenty of cases are mild and easy to manage once you know it’s happening. But if a few of these sound familiar, it’s worth getting your bite and jaw checked rather than waiting for a cracked tooth to force the issue.
Where to go from here:
- Want to know what grinding actually does to your teeth over time, and how a splint protects against it? Read What Tooth Grinding Does to Your Teeth.
- Curious what day-to-day management actually looks like? Read a dentist’s experience managing bruxism and TMD.
- For the full picture on treatment options, visit our Jaw Disorders page.
Book a consultation with our Brisbane CBD dental team if any of this sounds like you.
