Teeth Grinding – Tufts University Of Dental Medicine Offers Relief For Teeth Grinding

Are you one of the 10 million over-worked, over-scheduled, over-stressed Americans taking out their frustrations on their teeth? From clenching to crunching-dentists say Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) are now a major cause of headaches, back pain and fatigue for many people.

When the muscles of the head and neck area are overused from jaw clenching, tightening the neck, or other chronic pain, it can manifest itself as TMD, said Dr. Noshir Mehta, chairman of general dentistry and director of the Tufts University Gelb Pain Center. I have seen patients using over 250 pounds of pressure to grind their teeth -- the equivalent of having a large football player sitting on your tooth.

The Tufts University Gelb Pain Center consists of experts from Tufts University School Dental Medicine who work with the diagnosis and management of TMD and chronic head, neck and facial pain. It is one of the largest centers of its kind in the United States and uses a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of complex pain problems.

When the chewing muscles and jaw joints do not work correctly together, the muscles often get sore and tend to cramp, becoming part of a cycle that may develop into TMD. Though most TMD symptoms appear to be mild, a significant number of TMD patients develop a chronic pain syndrome. A dental visit is recommended if one is experiencing the following symptoms:

• * Headaches Severe headaches can be a symptom of many disorders affecting the jaw and mouth, and studies suggest that recurrent headaches occur in as many as 70 percent of TMD patients vs. approximately 20 percent of the general population.
• * Sleep Disturbances. Teeth grinding disrupts sleep patterns. Electrocardiograms that capture the brain waves of sleeping patients indicate that people who grind their teeth have violent spikes in their brain waves that keep them up at night.
• * Face, Neck and Arm Pain Pain in the face, neck or arms can all be symptoms of TMD. Teeth grinding may radiate to a number of other body locations and is create stiffness, weakness, tingling or numbness.
• * Eye and Ear Disorders Patients complaining of dizziness, loss of balance, difficulty focusing and pain around the ears or eyes could be gnashing their teeth at night.

If you are suffering from the painful effects of TMD the best treatment is a simple mouth guard which is custom fitted and hard enough to resist your jaw's grind, according to Mehta. The reduction of painful symptoms using mouth guards has been well documented showing a 70 to 90 percent treatment success rate.

The Tufts’ Gelb Center recommends and teaches other treatments to complement mouth guard usage. One approach is behavioral stress management. Chronic pain often results in depression and in some cases, daily stress and/or psychological stress such as inhibited anger will cause the muscles of the jaw to be tight constantly.

Practicing deep breathing may help reduce tension in the neck and upper chest. This therapy is appropriate for patients who have been in pain for a very long time or who have been injured. For others, physical therapy, acupuncture or surgery may be better options.

According to Mehta, all patients should learn how to release tension and control pain using acupressure. TMD is a muscle stress syndrome, and most pain comes from the muscles, he said. Acupressure is non-drug technique that is specific and effective.

The Gelb Center interacts closely with other pain specialists as well as with referring physicians and dentists to provide an integrated approach to managing TMD and pain. This center is also a teaching base for the Tufts University School of Medicine's Master's Degree Program in Pain Management, which is designed to teach pain control to health professionals.

Pain doesn't just affect the patient, it affects their family and friends, said Mehta. Unlike most medically-based pain management programs that teach patients how to cope with pain, TMD is treatable and gives patients the opportunity to live their life again, pain-free.





Author Notes:

Anita Gittens contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.teeth-whitening-smiles.com.  Everything you need to know to get a whiter, brighter smile!