Twenty years
of searching
I am a practicing dentist with a background as a Registered Nurse, and a great deal of my post-doctoral studies have focused on the jaw (TMJ), the bite (occlusion), and the muscles of the head and neck that are related to jaw movements. There is a lot we can do to control bruxism — grinding — but clenching has long been a neurological mystery left to those stuck with the problem.
I’ve tried biofeedback, night guards, orthotics, NTIs, acupuncture, acupressure, massage, chiropractic, and medications — with minimal results. The NTI helped me survive, although it caused my teeth to shift into an “anterior open bite”: I could no longer touch my front teeth together. Talk about embarrassing when eating — forget sushi. Even worse, more load gets sent to the back teeth. That continuous overload is what caused me to fracture an upper molar, and I ended up losing the tooth. I eventually corrected the bite with orthodontics.
Most clenchers don’t realize they clench. When examining patients in my office it’s not uncommon to hear “I think I might clench.” I look for the telltale wear patterns on teeth and check for overactive muscles. Try checking in with yourself a few times a day: do you notice tight shoulders and jaw? Let the shoulders drop away from the ears and let the lower jaw drop. In a relaxed jaw there should be a space between the upper and lower teeth — teeth shouldn’t touch except when eating and speaking.