Stop Grinding Your Teeth!! (if only it were that easy)

I have numerous patients come see me for jaw pain and neck pain. Some of these patients are teeth grinders and this can be the underlying cause of most of the pain in their neck and jaw. Most don't even realize that they are grinding their teeth, until I look at their teeth or a dentist mentions it to them. Their teeth may look like they are wearing down and have sharper irregular edges.

Unfortunately, since this is not a conscious act, most people do not know how to stop themselves from doing it.

The proper term for this kind of teeth grinding is bruxism. There are many theories of why bruxism takes place. Too much excitation of the nervous system is a common held belief of why this occurs. When the body should be in a state of rest and calm, it actually is revved up.

Most patients that grind their teeth at night have what is called a sympathetic dominant nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system should be less active at night, and the parasympathetic nervous system should be more active during the evening, to promote rest and relaxation. When I analyze these patients many of them test as being "switched", which is when the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems aren't working the way they should. Yes, people that's the test I do when you put your index fingers, followed by your knuckles, under your collar bones and cross them, and I perform a leg muscle test.

Mental, emotional, physical, toxic, and nutritional deficiency stressors all play their part in bruxism. The mental and emotional stressors can be anything from a break up to dissatisfaction with a job, as the subconscious mind is expressing itself through teeth grinding. In the physical/structural realm, there has been some evidence that jaw misalignments and underbites can increase the incidence of grinding, as the body is using this as a compensatory mechanism.

Toxic stressors and immune challenges may be a very important link to bruxism. Heavy metal and chemical toxicity cause the excitation of the nervous system, which may lead to the body not being able to calm down at night. Infections like viruses, bacteria, fungus, and parasites may also have an impact by causing the nervous system to be in a consistently stressful state.

Medications like amphetamines, SSRIs (Prozac, Zoloft, etc.), and meds used for ADHD have been linked to bruxism as well. There seems to be a link between an imbalance in dopamine and other neurotransmitters, which these medications attempt to correct but mostly act as a band-aid.

Nutritional deficiencies and therefore correcting nutritional deficiencies with supplementation has been effective in certain cases of bruxism. Specifically, mineral deficiencies like calcium and magnesium can be a cause of bruxism, as well as vitamin deficiencies in the B vitamin family.

Certain herbs that calm and detoxify the nervous system have had very positive effects helping people with bruxism. Some of the herbs that I have had success helping people with are manjistha, tulsi, ashwaganda, valerian, St. Johns wort, and reishi.

A sensitivity to caffeine and its derivatives like theophylline, theobromine, and methylxanthines have also been linked to teeth grinding. An easy place to start is to stop the caffeine and see if you notice the grinding diminish.

If the bruxism is really severe then many dentists will give the patient a splint or mouth guard to wear at night. For some people this is necessary, but it must be fitted correctly, as they can cause other compensatory problems. They will save your teeth from getting worn down but they must be monitored for wear and tear, and changed often to see how the jaw and teeth are responding. If you notice any part of the splint wearing down more than other parts, make sure you tell your dentist as this may be a sign that the splint needs to be refitted.

CASE STUDY

Melanie came into my office with severe migraines and neck pain and made me aware that her dentist noticed recently that her teeth were wearing down and recommended a night guard. I started working structurally on her and corrected misalignments in her cranial bones and jaw. Her migraines and neck pain immediately improved!! She also noticed that her jaw wasn't as tender when she would wake up in the morning. I performed further testing and found a severe deficiency in magnesium and calcium.

Melanie started supplementing with calcium lactate and magnesium citramate based on her testing. Three months later she went back for a follow up to her dentist, who told her that her teeth were not getting worse, and that he said they could hold off on the night guard. Melanie's solution was relatively simple, but many times it is more complex to correct this problem. I was grateful to be able to help Melanie and get her to feel better!

Dr. Louis Granirer
NYC Chiropractor
Holistic Chiropractic Center