Treatments
Jaw problems, Bruxism
Almost a quarter of the population clenches or grinds their teeth while sleeping. This condition, called bruxism, not only damages the enamel but also the gums and jawbone. It is often caused by another increasingly common problem: stress.
Jaw noises, difficulty opening the mouth, overdeveloped facial muscles, worn teeth, nighttime grinding, or feeling that the mouth doesn’t fit properly upon waking, accompanied by a chronic, highly localized headache, are symptoms of a temporomandibular joint disorder.
Half of all headaches are due to muscle overload, caused by a poorly fitting jaw and aggravated by the stress of daily life. Vicente Jiménez López, president of the Ibero-Latin American Academy of Craniomandibular Dysfunction and Facial Pain, which recently brought together 400 specialists in Madrid for its sixth annual congress, explains that “the stress of today’s society encourages us to clench our mouths to release energy, and if the mouth fits poorly, joint problems are compounded by muscle overload.”