Bruxism - how to deal with it?
The term bruxism is used to describe excessive clenching of the teeth, often combined with grinding them. This phenomenon occurs mainly during sleep, but the consequences are much more serious than the discomfort of a „co-sleeper” - as it is often a loved one who complains about our noises at night. What is bruxism, where does it come from, what consequences does it have and how can it be dealt with?
Bruxism. A noisy problem
The reasons for up to ¾ of the population struggling with excessive masticatory muscle tension are not fully recognised. Stress, malocclusion and excessive use of stimulant-type stimulants such as tobacco, alcohol and caffeine are cited as the main culprits for this type of disorder that leads to bruxism (and its consequences, as discussed below).
Bruxism and pelvic floor muscles
Bruxism is much more common in women, young people under 45 years of age. Interestingly, a link has been shown between nocturnal teeth grinding and... urinary incontinence. In women who have problems with resting and stress urinary incontinence, suffering from frequent urination, bowel problems, too heavy or scanty periods, pain during intercourse and even inability to get pregnant, bruxism is also common. Why such a connection? Well, the temporomandibular joints and the pelvic floor muscles belong to the same musculo-fascial band. Hence, problems in one of these areas of the body can result in disorders in the other. And it works both ways. Therefore, when looking for the causes of bruxism, you need to „look at” your pelvic muscles and sacroiliac joints. And vice versa: if we have a problem with incontinence, for example, we may also suffer from bruxism.
Effects of untreated bruxism
Gnashing your teeth at night may sound anecdotal, but it is not at all a fun affair. On the contrary, the consequences of bruxism are many and serious:
- headaches, neck, back, eye sockets, ears, shoulder girdle and arm pains
- Tooth wear, damage to the enamel, cracking of teeth, inflammation in the jaw, loss of teeth
- hearing and visual problems, impaired saliva production, balance disorders
- changing the shape of the face.
This last symptom sounds slightly less serious than the others, but is sometimes a cause of discomfort for many women. Under the influence of regular, excessive clenching of the teeth (up to ten times stronger than when eating hard food), the jaws take on a square appearance, the face in their area widens and „grows manic”. - its contour changes and it loses its natural softness.
Treatment of bruxism
As its causes may vary, the problem should be approached comprehensively. Certainly the first ally in the fight against the grinding of teeth should be our dentist, who will repair the cavities in the enamel caused by bruxism and prepare for us a special loosening splint, protecting the surfaces of the teeth against abrasion.
However, this is just the beginning, treating the symptoms rather than the causes of bruxism.
As stress is considered to be the main cause of the problem, measures must be taken to relieve and reduce it. It may therefore be necessary to visit a psychologist and undergo psychotherapy.
At the same time, it is a good idea to take care of physical comfort and rebalance the musculoskeletal system.
One technique for releasing muscle tension is facial massages, which relax the muscles, and facial exercises.
Aesthetic kinesiotaping also often proves to be helpful - once the appropriate knowledge has been acquired, of course.
As bruxism is sometimes associated with problems in the pelvic floor muscles and sacroiliac joints, therapy will be more effective if carried out in parallel - for example, by strengthening the sacroiliac area with a Serola® belt.
Facial yoga for bruxism - an exercise
Below you will find one of the exercises face yoga, which helps to relax muscle tension. It also restores the range of jaw angle.
EXECUTION
Open your mouth slightly. Touch the tip of your tongue to the lower front teeth from the inside of the teeth. Open your mouth, keeping the tip of your tongue on the lower teeth at all times, while pushing the centre of your tongue outwards. Take care not to open your mouth in a horizontal line with this movement, but try to do it vertically. Make 15-20 such movements.
Home remedies for bruxism
Without abandoning contact with specialists, home therapy for the treatment of bruxism can (and even should) be implemented:
- Relax tense jaw muscles by alternately opening and closing the mouth;
- By applying cold compresses to the jaws;
- By eliminating stimulant and hard foods from the diet;
- Massaging the neck and shoulders;
- By performing a set of exercises to relax the facial area: pinching the cheeks, clapping the tongue, parting the lips and bringing the jaw forward.
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Author of the entry: Marfa Kusinska-Bielecka - certified teacher of facial yoga by the method of Face Yoga, author of the book "beauty yoga", yogi, Ayurvedic consultant III degree, biologist, fashion designer.
I teach women to stay young and feel good for a long time.