Tooth Grinding
Tooth Grinding
The stress of the daily grind can become a... well, a daily grind—the common habit of nighttime tooth gnashing or daytime jaw clenching known as bruxism.
Problem is, this mouth movement can wear down teeth—they literally grind down and may even become loose. Besides affecting looks, this can cause jaw pain, particularly when you wake up, and can make teeth more sensitive to hot and cold foods and drinks. If this grinding continues, you can dislocate your jaw or damage the jaw joint, causing headaches, neck and shoulder pain and ringing in your ears. The natural remedies in this chapter—in conjunction with medical care and used with the approval of your dentist—may help prevent or ease tooth grinding, according to some health professionals.
See Your Medical Doctor When...
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Relaxation and Meditation
Whenever you feel tension building in your jaw, do the progressive relaxation exercise described on page 122, suggests Deena Margetis, a certified clinical hypnotherapist in Annandale, Virginia, who specializes in dental care. When you’ve completed the exercise and your body feels relaxed, imagine all of the remaining tension draining out of your jaw, down your shoulder and arm and into your hand. Clench and unclench your fist until you feel the tension gently dissipate.
Sound Therapy
Try listening to music with a slow, relaxing beat just before going to bed, says Janalea Hoffman, R.M.T., a composer and music therapist based in Kansas City, Missouri. Many people find that the music calms them down and makes them less likely to grind their teeth while sleeping, according to Hoffman. Try playing the music for 20 to 30 minutes; it’s okay to fall asleep while listening to it.
Make sure the music you listen to is 60 beats per minute or slower, Hoffman says. She recommends her tape Musical Massage; for other suggested pieces to relax by, see “Sailing Away to Key Largo” on page 129. Many of these pieces are available in music stores. For information on mail order, refer to the resource list on page 642.
Vitamin and Mineral Therapy
“Tooth grinding may be the result of a deficiency in calcium and magnesium,” says Richard D. Fischer, D.D.S., a dentist and homeopath in Annandale, Virginia, and president of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. “Many people get relief by taking a 500-milligram supplement of calcium each day, along with 200 to 300 milligrams of magnesium. If the trouble continues, then increase the amounts to 1,000 milligrams of calcium and 400 to 600 milligrams of magnesium.”
See also Temporomandibular Joint Disorder