Uncertainty is Stressful

None of us know what will happen next with the Corona Virus pandemic, and this uncertainty has created high levels of stress and anxiety in the world.  How we handle the stress varies, but many of us are taking out our stress on our teeth.

Bruxism, the clenching (biting down hard when there is no food to bite through) and grinding (rubbing the bottom teeth against the top teeth) of teeth damages the teeth, the periodontium (supporting structures of the teeth), and the jaw joints (aka TMJ, temperomandibular joints), and stresses the muscles of the face that help you chew. 

Some signs that you are clenching your teeth are:

-Wearing down of the biting surfaces of the teeth

-Chipping, cracking, and fracturing of the teeth

-Abfraction, the denting of the root surface at the necks of the teeth

-Loss of the bone that supports the teeth, so that the roots show, despite good dental hygiene

-Tooth pain, or dead teeth (from suffocating the teeth when cutting off their blood supply)

-Shifting of the teeth with increasing vertical overlap of front teeth, increasing spaces between the upper front teeth, and increasing crowding of the lower front teeth over time

-Facial pain and headaches

-Cracking noises from the joint in front of your ears when you open and close your mouth

There is no cure for bruxism, but you can mitigate some of the deleterious effects by:

-Making an effort to not close your teeth when you are awake, but not eating

-Wearing a custom hard, acrylic (plastic) dental appliance on all of your top teeth (which bites evenly on  all of the bottom teeth)  when you are sleeping so that you do the damage to the guard instead of to your teeth. (Dr. Okun can make this “occlusal guard” for you.)

-Limiting chewing (i.e. eat a softer diet that does not contain foods that have resistance to bite through) when you are experiencing periods of facial pain and headaches

-Using ice paks or hot compresses on the tender muscles on the sides of your face and head

-Puffing out your cheeks, as if you are blowing bubbles, to stretch and release tension in your chewing muscles

-Taking anti-anxiety herbs (such as Valerian, Lemon Balm, or Chamomile) in tea or pill form before bed