Is life a real grind for you?
Pandemic stress and working from home is making Brits grind their teeth, say dentists, leaving us with dental problems and pain. KIM JONES reports
BRUXISM – extreme teeth grinding and jaw clenching – affects about six million of us in the UK and can cause everything from chipped, cracked teeth and increased dental sensitivity to acute jaw pain and tension headaches.
And dentists are seeing more patients than ever with these teeth-torturing problems, all because of the pandemic and the anxieties and tensions it has brought.
“The past few months have been a challenging, stressful time for us all and I’m in no doubt that this is playing out in patients’ mouths,” says dentist Dr Ahmed Hussain (harrowonthehilldental.co.uk)
“A higher proportion than ever are presenting with symptoms of bruxism, including chipped teeth and headaches.”
Studies have found that almost 70 per cent of bruxism happens due to stress or anxiety.
Clenching the jaw and grinding the teeth can happen during the day (often when we’re concentrating, feeling under pressure or when we’re generally tense, anxious or worried) or at night, when it can lead to broken sleep.
People are often unaware they are night-time grinders (unless their other half lets them know), but telltale signs can be waking up with a sore jaw or headache.
It’s not just dentists who are dealing with teeth-grinding issues either.
Physiotherapists are also reporting huge numbers of patients coming to them post-Covid complaining of headaches and jaw pain – often indicators of clenching and grinding.
“I attribute some of it to the increased stress of working from home since the pandemic began – spending sustained periods in the same position on laptops on sofas, with no switch-off,” says physiotherapist Katie Knapton (physiofastonline.co.uk)
“This can result in increased tension all over the body, including in the neck and back, plus clenching and biting down, which puts pressure on the jaw and teeth.”
The poor posture many of us adopt when home-working from makeshift workstations is a big part of the problem too.
“Most people are working from dining tables, at suboptimal desks or even from laptops on their beds – with no ergonomic assessment as they would have at their place of work,” adds physiotherapist Krina Panchal (krinapanchalphysio.com).
“The resulting poor posture – forward head and rounded shoulders can cause spasm in the upper neck muscles, which connect the skull to the first few vertebrae in the neck – and can cause head and face pain.
“When these muscles spasm they can pull on the vertebrae – and when this pull is constant, it can lead to a change in the alignment of the jaw which then makes patients clench and grind even more than normal.”
GET THE PROBLEM UNDER CONTROL
IF you think you may be a teeth grinder, see your dentist.
Although occasional grinding won’t do your teeth any harm, prolonged gnashing could damage your teeth beyond repair and also put excessive pressure on your temporomandibular joint – the hinge that connects your jaw to your skull – and cause severe pain in the face, jaw and ear areas.
Your dentist can prescribe a custom-fitted mouthguard or oral splint to wear at night. This can help relax the jaw muscles and create a barrier between your teeth to prevent damage from grinding.
You can also buy self-adjusting mouthguards. The Sleepright range (from £24.99, bruxism.org.uk) is approved by the
British Dental Health Foundation. In some cases, Botox can be injected into the jaw muscles to relax them.
DEALING WITH THE DAMAGE
BRUXISM can wear down the enamel of your teeth and even cause them to crack or break.
To repair the look of a chipped or worn tooth, your dentist can apply porcelain veneers, dental crowns or composite bonding.
If the tooth has been damaged beyond repair, then you could opt for a dental implant.
TACKLE WORK STRESS
IF you suspect that work stress is causing your tooth trauma, then Katie Knapton advises regular work breaks – set a timer on your phone every 40 minutes to walk around and change position and to check in with your
body to see if you’re tensing up and clenching your jaw.
“Take note of your breathing too,” she says. “Many of us practise apical breathing (shallow breaths into the chest) which can create tension in the neck and jaw. Try breathing deeply into your belly instead.”
Krina Panchal adds: “It’s not easy when some people have no choice about where they work – for example, young adults in house shares where there isn’t any space to work apart from their bed. But if you can, do try to avoid poor working posture by setting up your monitor so that the first line of text on your screen is at eye level and your arms are at a 90 degree angle.”
It could also be worth seeing a physiotherapist to help mobilise upper neck vertebrae and bring them back into alignment.
LEARN TO RELAX
RELAXATION techniques, such as meditation or yoga, can help relax your whole body, including your jaw, so you’re less likely to clamp down and grind, so try to incorporate some soothing practices into your day.
Have a calming pre-bedtime routine – including a warm bath – and avoid alcohol, which tends to make tooth-grinding worse. Try holding a warm compress against your jaw next to your earlobe to help relax the jaw muscle before bed too.
“During the day, if you notice that you are grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw, try positioning the tip of your tongue between your teeth to help your jaw muscles relax,” suggests dentist Dr Krystyna Wilcyznski (whiteandcodental. co.uk).
“To relieve jaw tightness, place your fingers on the top of your front four bottom teeth. Slowly pull down until you feel slight discomfort on the side of your jaw. Hold for 30 seconds, and then slowly release your jaw back to the starting position.”
Try putting your tongue between your teeth to help your jaw muscles relax