Can you end the daily grind?
Many experts disagree when it comes to clenching your jaw, writes Linda Blair.
Bruxism — grinding your teeth and/or clenching your jaw — keeps coming up, and there are two good reasons why. The first is that the number of cases has risen dramatically since lockdown; the second is, experts appear unable to agree on the best treatment.
The Bruxism Association suggests teeth grinding affects about eight to 10 per cent of the population in more “normal” times and it's particularly prevalent among those aged 25 to 44. A survey of 1,209 adults by Peter Wetselaar and colleagues at the Academic Centre for Dentistry in Amsterdam put the PRE-COVID rate higher, at 16.5 per cent among those who suffer sleep bruxism, five per cent among those who grind or clench while awake. With most dentists reporting significant rises in cases, the incidence could now be as high as 1-in-4.
Bruxism is not something to ignore. Although sufferers may not be aware they're grinding and clenching, they soon notice the symptoms.
Short-term effects include inflamed gums, sensitive teeth, earaches, headaches, stiff and/ or sore facial, neck and shoulder muscles and sleep deprivation. In the longer term, they may suffer cracked or broken teeth, severely worn enamel, and/or chronic jaw pain.
No one is certain about the causes, although stress is accepted as a major trigger. There are suggestions that excess alcohol, drugs, caffeine and smoking may encourage the condition, but I suspect this is merely an association, evidence of attempts to lower stress levels. Similarly, the fact that bruxism runs in families may be another association — a learned approach to dealing with stress — rather than a causative explanation.
What, then, can be done to treat bruxism? Sadly, there's no agreement among experts here, either, primarily because we don't yet have enough good research.
Current recommended treatments fall into two categories: physical (mouth splints or braces, pain relief and damage repair) and psychological (cognitive behavioural therapy, relaxation exercises, mindfulness/meditation, good sleep hygiene). No treatment has been proven conclusively superior.
Therefore, it's best to try as many approaches as you and your dentist agree are safe, to find what works best for you.