Tooth Grinding - What Your Dentist Doesn't Know Can Hurt You

Over one million Americans wake up each morning with pain from nighttime tooth grinding and clenching (bruxism). Does the fact that these people remain in pain every day mean they all don't have dentists? No, actually most of these people have dentists. Unfortunately, while most dentists are expert at preventing tooth damage and repairing damaged teeth, they are taught little or nothing in dental school about the psychology of habits, and most long-term tooth grinding and clenching is a habit most people would very much like to kick.

So what does it take to kick the habit of tooth grinding and clenching? As you might suspect from thinking about other habits (like smoking, over-eating, drinking, or nail biting), the answer is different for different people. The "solution" that most dentists currently recommend is a custom-made mouth guard. Lots of people take their dentist's recommendation and plunk down between $500 and $800 for a custom-made mouth guard. Once you have paid for yours, you get to find out if you are someone whose nighttime clenching gets worse or better when you wear a mouth guard.

"Wait a minute..." you might say "did you say my clenching could get worse?" It certainly could. You see, the problem is that while mouth guards obviously protect your teeth, they don't necessarily make you bite less. The nature of the tooth grinding and clenching habit for some people is that a mouth guard is more of an annoyance to be chewed through than a signal to relax.

Fortunately, there are a lot more possible ways to interrupt a habit than just sticking a mouth guard in your mouth. Some people have success reducing tooth grinding and clenching through hypnosis. An EMG-measuring headband such as the SleepGuard biofeedback headband can be used to measure tooth grinding, and biofeedback can be used with or without hypnosis to kick the tooth grinding habit. Some people find that changing their sleep environment and avoiding foods they are allergic to also makes a difference. For a comprehensive list of the ways that different people have succeeded in kicking the habit of tooth grinding and clenching, check out the non-profit resource website http://StopGrinding.org.