bowman795, you thinking of chattering teeth...
Grinding your teeth while you sleep is called bruxism.
I grind my teeth too. Didn't know until this semester when my roommate woke me up a couple of times because he couldn't sleep. I woke up one time while I was grinding my teeth, that sh!t is loud as hell! I tried reproducing the noise it made while I was awake, and I couldn't grind hard enough to get that sound.
Anyway, here's an article in BusinessWeek(February 12, 2001) page 97.
"Bad News for Teeth Grinders
Grinding or clenching of teeth during sleep has long been linked to tooth loss, headaches, and jaw pain. An international team of sleep researchers has found a link between this syndrome, known as bruxism, and sleep apnea, which involves potentially deadly gaps in breathing during sleep.
The study, published in the January issue of Chest, hinges on interviews with more than 13,000 people in Britain, Germany and Italy. The findings suggest that bruxism is not only a serious medical condition but also extremely common. About 8% of those surveyed reported grinding their teeth at least once a week, suggesting that 27 million Americans may be afflicted.
Both the exact cause of bruxism and its link to sleep apnea remain unclear. Dr. Maurice M. Ohyayon, a sleep expert at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the study's lead researcher, suspects that bruxism and sleep apnea share the same anatomical cause, perhaps a abnormality of the jawbone of jaw muscles. He urges doctors and dentist who see signs of bruxism such as unusual wear and damage to the teeth, to check for sleep apnea, which can be tread."
-Mitch Nelin-