Uncertainty Stress and "TMJ" Facial Pain

 

No one knows what’s going to happen next.  Will schools open for “ in person learning” this month?  Will gatherings of students start a second wave of the COVID19 pandemic?  Will restaurants open for indoor dining?  Will gyms be able to meet their overhead expenses with only half the number of clients in order to meet social distancing guidelines? Will small businesses survive the long shut-downs? Will parents be able to go back to work when their children are staying home for remote learning?

One thing that is certain is that uncertainty is a stress that takes a toll on our health. 

One way many of us deal with stress is by clenching and grinding our teeth.  Unfortunately bruxism, the clenching and grinding of one’s teeth, is not benign.  It wears down the surface of the teeth, cracks and chips the teeth, accelerates the bone loss from gum disease, causes root resorption (shortening of the tooth roots), kills the nerves in the teeth, causes undesirable shifting of the positions of the teeth, and causes spasm of the chewing muscles and changes in the jaw joints. (Symptomatic temperomandibular joints and associated facial pain are often referred to as “TMJ”.) There is no cure for bruxism, but there is something you can do to minimize the damage it causes. 

The best treatment for “TMJ” and bruxism is to wear a hard plastic guard on all of the top teeth at night.  This “occlusal guard’ should cover all of the top teeth and touch all of the bottom teeth evenly when the teeth are closed, so that the teeth are all splinted together and share forces evenly. That way the damage from the excessive forces is done to the plastic instead of to the teeth and their supporting structures. The guard should never be soft; a soft guard will allow the teeth to rock back and forth as the plastic flexes.  Although Soft guards protect the teeth from chipping, they can accelerate the loss of the bone that keeps the teeth in the mouth.  The guard should cover every tooth on the top, and touch as many bottom teeth as possible; that way the teeth don’t shift, altering the bite.  A properly made custom occlusal guard is not something you can buy over-the-counter in the drug store.  Dr. Judith Okun has years of experience treating TMJ and facial pain with properly made occlusal guards.  Call her office at (914) 253-0722 to set up an appointment to evaluate if you are taking out your stress on your teeth, and if you could benefit from the night time use of a custom occlusal guard.