Are you a clencher or grinder?
Do you grit your teeth when you’re angry?
Do you wake up with a sore tired jaw, painful face or struggle with headaches?
Stress can cause teeth grinding and you may notice your teeth wearing away.
Do you worry that your teeth will wear out before you do and not look as nice?
Well you aren’t alone, there are many people just like you.
Clenching and/ or grinding (bruxism) can cause your teeth to wear down, chip or even crack. It can even lead to facial pain and headaches (TMD) in some cases.
There are a few causes of bruxism such as stress, snoring, some medications and for some it is just a habit.
Can a dentist help with this?
Definitely…
First though you need the correct diagnosis. We take x-rays, do an exam and check what’s happening.
Most clenching and grinding happens during your sleep.
Did you know that when you’re asleep you can bite down 300 x harder than when you’re awake! Doing this all night, every night, over many years, can cause a lot of damage.
And, if your clenching and grinding develops into TMD, you can experience a lot of pain.
There are several options available to save your teeth and lessen the pain:
Wearing a night guard while you are asleep
Applying heat or taking muscle relaxant medications such as aspirin or anti-inflammatories.
Relaxation techniques to reduce stress
Physiotherapy to relax the muscles
Vitamin supplements such as magnesium and zinc
Muscle relaxant injections
Muscle relaxants.. like Botulinum toxin… isn’t that just for wrinkles?
When relaxants are injected in to the jaw muscles it causes them to relax, so you can’t clench and grind as much. It has lots of uses apart from treating wrinkles.
For treatment of clenching and grinding or TMD and even cosmetic anti-wrinkle muscle relaxant injections, book an appointment or contact us for more info.
