Teeth Clenching and Grinding

Bruxism is the medical term for the habit of grinding and clenching your teeth. It can have both medical and aesthetic consequences.

Most people will do this from time to time, which does not usually cause any harm, but when teeth grinding happens on a regular basis it can permanently damage the teeth. In some people it can also aggravate headaches, earaches and pain and discomfort.

Teeth grinding usually occurs subconsciously during sleep. In most people, stress and anxiety are a contributing factor to bruxism.

Types of Bruxism

Bruxism is often classified as either:

Awake bruxism, which is when you habitually clench your teeth and jaw when awake (but there is not usually any teeth grinding). Most will do this subconsciously while concentrating.

Sleep bruxism, which is when you subconsciously grind your teeth and squeeze your jaw muscles in your sleep. Partners may hear the grinding or clenching, which can be noisy

Whatever the effect, clenching and grinding are habits which are hard to break and can cause significant effects in terms of aching, sleep disturbance and tooth damage. If it becomes persistent treatment is available.

Aesthetics

Long term clenching causes enlargement of the muscles at the side of the jaw – notably the masseter and temporalis muscles. This causes widening and ‘squaring’ of the lower face, masking the normal youthful oval or heart shaped appearance many would prefer.

Treatment

Injections of botulinum toxin into the temporalis and masseter muscles can be used to selectively weaken them. This has two effects:

• It can break the habit of clenching and grinding as the muscles become less active. After a few treatments the problem can go away.
• Once the muscles cannot clench, then become smaller – as any muscle does from lack of use – and return to their normal size. This changes the face shape back from the square look to a slimmer, more oval shape.