4/25/07
Clenching Your Teeth Is Not Sexy
Author: Phyllis Grannis
Ever noticed that familiar scene at the movies when the camera goes in for a close-up on the gangster's face during a tense moment in the film and you can see him clenching and his jaw muscles throbbing?
I always think...bet he has headaches!
You many not know that the action of biting down on your teeth (other than chewing and swallowing) is called "clenching", "bruxing", or "grinding your teeth" and can cause TMJ problems and headaches. A high percentage of the headache sufferers I saw in my practice were also 'clenchers' but most were not even aware they had the habit. You may know you grind your teeth if your partner wakes you up when they hear you grind your teeth at night, you experience jaw pain and/or headaches, or your dentist has pointed out that you have cracked teeth or excessive tooth wear. But what can you do besides wearing a splint that only protects your teeth but does nothing to stop the habit?
One of the most common side effects of clenching is chronic headaches, but since most headache sufferers don't think they clench and doctors don't make an evaluation, the connection is never made. Or even more interesting, I never had a client be told to stop clenching first before drastic measures like surgery are tried. Even misaligned bites can correct themselves once the clenching has stopped and the muscles are allowed to relax back to normal.
In my practice, clenching was the number one trigger of tension and migraine headaches. I will say it again. In my practice, clenching was the number one trigger of tension and migraine headaches.
Hard to believe?
People were sent to my office on the verge of jaw surgery, people who have been prescribed splints to protect their teeth and they kept 'chewing' them up, people with chronic headaches who 'swore' they didn't clench and the treatment for all of them as to 'stop the habit of clenching'.
Sounds simple?
It is, but for many it is a major undertaking. Not because it is a hard thing to do...but because habits are for the most part unconscious and for that reason hard to break.
Dentists prescribe splint therapy, but if you do not stop the habit of clenching, a splint is only a partial solution. If you have surgery on your TMJ joint, and you still have a habit of clenching, the results are often unsatisfactory. Medications can help with the pain but if you don't break the habit of clenching, you can undo any benefit from surgery.
If you still don't think you clench, use this definition: If your upper and lower teeth touch at any time EXCEPT when you are chewing or swallowing that is the sign that you are a clencher.
How do you know when you are clenching and what do you do?
You pay attention. You check the position of you teeth every chance you get. If you find them touching put some space between your teeth. At first when you start to check, it can be frustrating because you will find your teeth are touching every time you check. Some of you will find that you clench only during certain times. Like when you are trying to figure something out on the computer, or when you are talking to a difficult relative on the phone, or when you teenager has missed a curfew.
What if you only clench at night? How can you stop a habit when you are asleep? First you must stop clenching during the day. Then once the new habit of "not clenching" is in place, it will feel strange to clench. Then at night before you go to sleep you relax your jaw, remind yourself not to clench and then check anytime your awake enough to do it.
This habit of clenching is one of the reasons that medications, splints, massage, and other alternative treatments fail. Because if the habit persists, all the good these other modalities offer is countered by the continued habit of clenching.
Here are some clues to look for if you think you don't think you are clenching but have headaches.
1) You sometimes wake up with sore teeth or jaw muscles
2) When you relax your jaw and let you chin drop, it feels more uncomfortable than when your mouth is shut.
3) You can't open your mouth as wide as you should be able to.
4) You chew gum everyday.
5) Just touching your teeth together without biting down is enough pressure to be a problem.
¶ 11:37 PM
Author: Phyllis Grannis
Ever noticed that familiar scene at the movies when the camera goes in for a close-up on the gangster's face during a tense moment in the film and you can see him clenching and his jaw muscles throbbing?
I always think...bet he has headaches!
You many not know that the action of biting down on your teeth (other than chewing and swallowing) is called "clenching", "bruxing", or "grinding your teeth" and can cause TMJ problems and headaches. A high percentage of the headache sufferers I saw in my practice were also 'clenchers' but most were not even aware they had the habit. You may know you grind your teeth if your partner wakes you up when they hear you grind your teeth at night, you experience jaw pain and/or headaches, or your dentist has pointed out that you have cracked teeth or excessive tooth wear. But what can you do besides wearing a splint that only protects your teeth but does nothing to stop the habit?
One of the most common side effects of clenching is chronic headaches, but since most headache sufferers don't think they clench and doctors don't make an evaluation, the connection is never made. Or even more interesting, I never had a client be told to stop clenching first before drastic measures like surgery are tried. Even misaligned bites can correct themselves once the clenching has stopped and the muscles are allowed to relax back to normal.
In my practice, clenching was the number one trigger of tension and migraine headaches. I will say it again. In my practice, clenching was the number one trigger of tension and migraine headaches.
Hard to believe?
People were sent to my office on the verge of jaw surgery, people who have been prescribed splints to protect their teeth and they kept 'chewing' them up, people with chronic headaches who 'swore' they didn't clench and the treatment for all of them as to 'stop the habit of clenching'.
Sounds simple?
It is, but for many it is a major undertaking. Not because it is a hard thing to do...but because habits are for the most part unconscious and for that reason hard to break.
Dentists prescribe splint therapy, but if you do not stop the habit of clenching, a splint is only a partial solution. If you have surgery on your TMJ joint, and you still have a habit of clenching, the results are often unsatisfactory. Medications can help with the pain but if you don't break the habit of clenching, you can undo any benefit from surgery.
If you still don't think you clench, use this definition: If your upper and lower teeth touch at any time EXCEPT when you are chewing or swallowing that is the sign that you are a clencher.
How do you know when you are clenching and what do you do?
You pay attention. You check the position of you teeth every chance you get. If you find them touching put some space between your teeth. At first when you start to check, it can be frustrating because you will find your teeth are touching every time you check. Some of you will find that you clench only during certain times. Like when you are trying to figure something out on the computer, or when you are talking to a difficult relative on the phone, or when you teenager has missed a curfew.
What if you only clench at night? How can you stop a habit when you are asleep? First you must stop clenching during the day. Then once the new habit of "not clenching" is in place, it will feel strange to clench. Then at night before you go to sleep you relax your jaw, remind yourself not to clench and then check anytime your awake enough to do it.
This habit of clenching is one of the reasons that medications, splints, massage, and other alternative treatments fail. Because if the habit persists, all the good these other modalities offer is countered by the continued habit of clenching.
Here are some clues to look for if you think you don't think you are clenching but have headaches.
1) You sometimes wake up with sore teeth or jaw muscles
2) When you relax your jaw and let you chin drop, it feels more uncomfortable than when your mouth is shut.
3) You can't open your mouth as wide as you should be able to.
4) You chew gum everyday.
5) Just touching your teeth together without biting down is enough pressure to be a problem.
About the Author:
Phyllis Grannis - After years in private practice teaching clenchers to stop their bruxing habit, she now does it online! Learn how you can Stop Bruxing Now
Phyllis Grannis - After years in private practice teaching clenchers to stop their bruxing habit, she now does it online! Learn how you can Stop Bruxing Now
¶ 11:37 PM
