{"id":1110,"date":"2020-01-20T15:28:01","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T15:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/?p=1110"},"modified":"2020-01-20T15:28:02","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T15:28:02","slug":"the-daily-grind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/the-daily-grind\/","title":{"rendered":"THE DAILY GRIND"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Studies have shown\na link between teeth grinding, clenching and headaches. There are also links to\npeople who have sleep breathing disorders, and those who take serotonin uptake\ninhibitors (SSRI). Some brand names of these drugs are Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac,\nPaxil and Zoloft. Many people grind and clench their teeth for many different\nreasons \u2013 let\u2019s not forget STRESS!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For people who\ngrind or clench, the muscles that open and close the jaw can become painful\nfrom overuse, causing a range of symptoms from tension to migraine headaches to\njaw joint (TMJ) problems to tooth pain. Here is a simple test \u2013 look at your\ntongue in the mirror without sticking it out. Are the borders smooth? If they\nare ridged, you are probably doing something outside of normal function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bruxing (grinding)\nand clenching teeth is defined as abnormal tooth contact (parafunction).\nOrdinarily, teeth should only be in contact while eating and swallowing, which\nis about 10 to 15 minutes on a daily basis. People who grind or clench their\nteeth during the day, or while sleeping, can have their teeth in contact for as\nmuch as six hours a day or more. Researchers say that one night of grinding is\nequivalent to 80 days of normal wear. Read that last sentence again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clenching can be\njust as bad, and in some cases, worse than grinding. The average person puts\nabout 200 lbs. of force on back molars during function, but a person who\nclenches can put up to 1000 lbs. on the molars. This is a lot of force for the\nteeth to withstand. Fractured teeth are seen on a regular basis in dental\noffices due to clenching. Typically, a person will come in saying that their\ntooth broke while they were eating something soft. While that may be the case,\noften times clenching and\/or grinding has weakened the tooth prior to it\nbreaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American\nDental Association estimates that 95 % of the American population suffers from\na grinding or clenching problem at some point in their lives. Some people do so\nmuch damage over time that they need a lot of dentistry to restore their teeth\nback to normal function. The key is early diagnosis and treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many patients do\nnot realize, and some refuse to accept the fact that there is a problem. The\nreason for this is because many, if not most, do not have symptoms. The\nmasticatory system is a very adaptive and forgiving system. Some even think\ntheir symptoms are just normal. However, if a problem is identified, accepted,\nand treated, it can help prevent numerous potential issues down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore,\nsuccessful therapy starts with acceptance of the pathology present. In addition\nto behavior modification, nighttime bite splints can be very effective. They\nshould be worn every night, not just when it \u201cseems\u201d like you have been grinding\nor clenching. It\u2019s like wearing a knee brace. You wear the brace to support the\nknee to help prevent more injury. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some patients\nrequire daytime splints because their issues are affecting them during the day,\nand a \u201cnight\u201d guard might not be enough. Over-the-counter appliances are typically\nnot recommended for a variety of reasons.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask your dentist\nwhether you have any of the signs associated with grinding or clenching, and\nespecially talk to your dentist if you have any symptoms. If the reason can be\nidentified as to why this happening, it will direct the provider to offering\nthe best solution for your specific situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. St. Clair\nmaintains a private dental practice in Rowley and Newburyport dedicated to health-centered\nfamily dentistry. If there are certain topics you would like to see written\nabout or questions you have please email them to him at jpstclair@stclairdmd.com<\/a>.\nYou can view all previously written columns at www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Studies have shown a link between teeth grinding, clenching and headaches. There are also links to people who have sleep breathing disorders, and those who take serotonin uptake inhibitors (SSRI). Some brand names of these drugs are Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft. Many people grind and clench their teeth for many different reasons \u2013 let\u2019s not forget STRESS! For people who grind or clench, the muscles that open and close the jaw can become […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1110"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1115,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1110\/revisions\/1115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}