Clenching and Grinding Can Lead to Many Problems
Bruxism is a Condition that Can Affect People in Serious Ways.
Jun 8, 2009
Need another good reason to make every effort to stop clenching and grinding your teeth? More than just teeth and jaws are affected when one clenches and grinds! Clenching and grinding (bruxism) can also lead to serious throat and swallowing problems.
Swallowing Disorders and Bruxism
Bruxism often causes irreversible damage which can cost a lot of money and time in a dental chair to repair. Equally as bad, however, (maybe worse) is the injury and trauma to one's throat that one can ultimately experience because of clenching and grinding. If tender throat muscles aren't scary enough, think about the horrible swallowing difficulties, risk of choking and other myofascial problems which can often ensue because of this insidious habit.
If a person is already experiencing difficulty with swallowing, even if it's only occasional, or if they are prone to choking, particular attention needs to paid here. Stressing the jaw joints creates stress on the throat muscles as well. These things do not work in isolation. If one is already having difficulties with one's throat, it is imperative to take every action possible to stop the clenching/grinding that most likely occurs at night while sleeping.
Causes of Bruxism and TMJ Disorders
Often eliminating this habit goes hand in hand with eliminating stress. Undue amounts of stress will do much more harm to a person's body over the long haul than cause TMJ Disorder, myofascial problems and swallowing/throat difficulties. These may just be the beginning of a long slide downhill.
Clenching and grinding is a very complex problem, however, and being under stress may not be the cause of this problem. There are many factors that can contribute to clenching, grinding and TMJD, from whip lash, head/neck injury, spinal misalignment, hyper-extension of the jaw, exposure to toxic substances, perhaps even a nutritional deficiency, etc. Many health specialists are beginning to question whether a chronic lack of vitamin B nutrients might not be a contributing factor in this condition. It can also be something as simple as a childhood habit of grinding that was never outgrown. Even though clenching and grinding at night during childhood is fairly common, it is still a bad habit. Unfortunately, some individuals continue with this nocturnal habit because they are unaware that they are doing it.
Take the time to analyze what could be causing this problem. Don't brush this off with a simple, "Oh well." Worse problems will come if clenching and grinding are not brought under control.
You Can Conquer TMJ: Ideas and Recipes (Moonlight Mesa Associates, 2007) is an excellent resource for those suffering from these disorders.
