As of lately, I start catching myself grinding my teeth very aggressively, I don’t know why, but I just do it. I didn’t do it before and now I have to be aware of the fact that i am doing it, and stop. we all have that one habit that pops up from no where, like cracking fingers, neck, or back. eating fingers, and other small irritant behaviors that actually happens for a reason. everybody concludes that these little moves are a natural result of stress. I disagree, I don’t think i’m stressed, I just think my brain is playing mind games – no pun intended-.
the medical term for grinding your teeth is called Bruxism. apparently, if you grind your teeth during the day, then you must do it during your sleep. Bruxism happens mostly during sleeping, especially after a day of consuming caffeine or alcohol. the habit is intertwined with other bad habits, such as chewing pencils or biting your nails. as I type this, I am very aware of the strain in my jaw and the fact that my brain orders my mouth to stop doing it every 15 second. it sort of sneaks up and you start doing it without even noticing, its driving me crazy! especially because it leads to migraines.
if you also have that problem, I have a simple solution for you. I was at my old Penn State New Kensington campus and ran into nurse Elaine, one of my favorite people in the world, she taught me a simple trick, which is to position your tongue in the middle of the mouth, enabling your jaws to relax and preventing teeth grinding. its a simple trick that goes a long way, I have applied it and I cant say you will stop, but atleast you will be more able to control the uncontrollable urge to give yourself a dull headache.
Wow, I grind my teeth so this post should help me with your solution! But for the reason we learned in class, this is a personal anecdote for a solution, and needs a bit more evidence to be considered a solution or mechanism. You should cite some sources and studies, such as this website: http://askthedentist.com/why-you-grind-your-teeth/ , that mentions multiple studies. You should dwell into the trials of why caffeine causes such teeth grinding, or how stress directly correlate to such reactions. I for one grind my teeth at night and crack my knuckles during the day, though I never knew why. But until somehow my instinctive needs of grinding or cracking go away, I have to continue and deal with the consequences.
I think this is a really interesting post. I have to admit that I thought that teeth grinding may be due to stress as well. I found an article that claims that there is nothing psychological about teeth grinding. It also says that there are even medications made specifically for this. Maybe an easier way would be to cut down on caffeine!
https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-disorders-problems/bruxism-and-sleep
My mom grinds her teeth when she sleeps so much that her canine teeth have been ground completely flat. Her teeth are one straight line! She has to wear a mouth guard when she sleeps to prevent her teeth from grinding right against each other now. I, on the other hand, clench my jaw very tightly when I sleep, and also sometimes when I’m awake. This is because I have TMJ, which is a temporomandibular joint disorder. My jaw locks in place and it causes serious pain in my jaw, down my neck, and in my shoulders. I have to wear a mouth guard when I sleep as well, however I haven’t found that it does much for me.
This is a great topic. The post could use more research though! Put a few links in. I found This website on how grinding teeth is bad and ways to prevent and treat it. Perhaps you can edit your post and put more links like this in, as well as add a study from scientists about teeth grinding. Hope that helps!