Do you clench your teeth? How do you know when you’re clenching and what do you do about it?
Ever notice that familiar scene at the movies when the camera goes in for a close-up on the gangster’s face during a tense moment in the film and you can see him clenching and his jaw muscles throbbing?
He probably has headaches!
The action of biting down on your teeth (other than chewing and swallowing) is called “clenching” or “grinding your teeth” and can cause TMJ problems and headaches.
Remember TMJ? Well, in case you don’t, it stands for Temporomandibular Joint, the joint of your jaw that runs from your temple to your lower jaw. Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD) causes symptoms such as headaches, sore jaw, ear clicking, or facial pain. Ouch, right?
A high percentage of the headache sufferers are also ”clinchers” but most aren’t even aware they have the habit! You may know you grind your teeth if your partner wakes you up when they hear you at night, you experience jaw pain and/or headaches, or the dentist has pointed out that you have cracked teeth or excessive tooth wear.
You pay attention. Here are some clues if you don’t know if you’re clenching but most definitely have headaches.
1) You sometimes wake up with sore teeth or jaw muscles.
2) When you relax your jaw and let your chin drop, it feels more uncomfortable than when your mouth is shut.
3) You can’t open your mouth as wide as you should be able to.
4) You chew gum every day.
5) Just touching your teeth together without biting down is enough pressure to be a problem.
Did you answer “yes” to any of those questions? If you think you’re having problems with TMJ, ask us about TMJ splints!
