Tooth Grinding

Tooth Grinding

When your life's a grind all day, your teeth are bound to grind all night. Pent-up stress is the usual cause of tooth grinding--also known as bruxism--a common and potentially ruinous process of nighttime gnashing or daytime jaw clenching.

Whether it's a daytime habit or a nighttime problem, you may be unaware of what you're doing to those pearly whites until they literally "grind down" in size. Besides affecting looks, untreated bruxism makes it harder for you to eat, since all that grinding erodes tooth enamel to the point where teeth become more sensitive to hot and cold foods and drinks. Often bruxism causes severe headaches and facial and jaw pain--especially when chewing and just after waking up.

If these symptoms have a familiar bite, here are some remedies to chew on to stop your gritting.

Handle the stress in your life. You're more prone to bruxism if you let stress get to you before you get to it--one reason why hard-driving, stressaholic, Type A personalities are particularly susceptible to tooth grinding, says Neil Gottehrer, D.D.S., director of the Craniofacial Pain Center in Abington, Pennsylvania. "Many sublimate frustration or aggression into jaw clenching or tooth grinding."

His advice: Squeeze a tennis ball when you feel stressed, or practice a regular stress reduction technique such as meditation, listening to music or another pastime that helps you unwind and release stress before it takes up permanent residence in your gut.

Change your sleeping position. If you sleep on your side or stomach, you're more likely to have bruxism, even if you control the stress in your life, says Tom Colquitt, D.D.S., a dentist and bruxism researcher in Shreveport, Louisiana.

You can take some pressure off your teeth and reduce tooth grinding if you just change your nighttime position. Sleep on your back, advises Dr. Colquitt.

Or get a contoured pillow. If you must sleep in the fetal position, place a contoured foam pillow under your face, adds Dr. Colquitt. Then place another ordinary pillow between your arms, as if you were hugging it. When you sleep in this position, the contoured pillow reduces strain on your neck and jaw, and the other pillow helps prevent you from rolling over onto your face. You can purchase a contoured foam pillow, which ranges in price from about $35 to $50, at most surgical supply houses.

Munch on crunchy food before bedtime. Eating raw apples, cauliflower, carrots or celery helps tire out jaw muscles, so they'll be too tuckered to gnash at night, says Harold T. Perry, D.D.S., Ph.D., a past president of the American Academy of Craniomandibular Disorders and a professor of orthodontics at Northwestern University Dental School in Chicago.

Just say no to nightcaps. If you are looking for an excuse to "numb" your jaws, look somewhere besides your liquor cabinet. "Studies have shown that alcohol actually makes you clench more, " says Jeffrey P. Okeson, D.M.D., director of the Orofacial Pain Center at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry in Lexington. "My guess is that alcohol disrupts the sleep cycle and influences increased muscle activity in your jaw." If aching jaws are troubling you, Dr. Okeson recommends two ibuprofen (Advil) tablets.

Try the 60-minute solution. A regular workout for at least 20 minutes three times weekly helps relieve pent-up stress and releases endorphins, the body's natural painkilling substances. "Participating in some sort of physical activity each day is a healthy way to release stress and may be helpful in solving your nighttime tooth-grinding problem," says Dr. Okeson.

Guard your gnashers. Many dentists prescribe specially made acrylic mouth guards to prevent or minimize nighttime tooth grinding. As an alternative, you might have success with the kind of mouth guard that's available at a sporting goods store, according to Sheldon Gross, D.D.S., a past president of the American Academy of Craniomandibular Disorders and a lecturer at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, and at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey/New Jersey Medical School in Newark. Look for a sports mouth guard that can be "custom-fitted" by placing the mouthpiece in hot water and biting down. "Try it--and if it works, fine. If it doesn't, check with your dentist for a prescription," suggests Dr. Gross.

Practice proper jaw posture. "There are only three times when your lower teeth should be touching your upper teeth--when you chew, swallow and speak," says Dr. Okeson. "At all other times, your teeth should not be touching." To make sure your jaws are in their proper position, sit up straight and blow a little air through slightly parted lips. In this position your teeth are slightly separated--just where you want them. "With practice, your jaw will assume the correct posture automatically," says Dr. Okeson.

Heat up your jaws. Applying wet heat to the sides of your face helps relax clenching jaw muscles, says bruxism specialist Kenneth R. Goljan, D.D.S., of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Soak a washcloth in very hot water, wring it out, and place the cloth on your jaws, as often as possible--especially right before bedtime.