Stress is a ‘silent force’ typical to every human being, and its impacts are devastating. A 2024 survey, for example, reported that 85% of adults experience stress which is a weekly occurrence in over a third of people. Yet, not only does extreme stress pose a risk to our mental health, but it can also affect our dental well-being.
One surprising yet common bi-product of stress is bruxism. More commonly known as teeth grinding, the condition often manifests itself subconsciously during sleep but can also be triggered by stressful situations during the day.
This is backed by a study published by the British Dental Journal, which identifies that stress and anxiety are key predictors of bruxism.
Understanding the core of the disease and its prevalence serves as a deterrent to managing the problem. So, let’s talk about how stress can impact oral health.
The Impact of Stress on Teeth - How Stress Leads to Teeth Grinding
Although chronic stress is mostly associated with mental destruction, the physical aspects can also have a profound effect on your teeth.
Like elsewhere, muscles in the jaw can tense up as part of a fight or flight response in reaction to stress, causing you to subconsciously grind your teeth. What was once a harmless occasional action can quickly become habitual, significantly damaging teeth and jaws.
What’s more devastating is its prevalence in the UK population. Research published in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 2022, states that almost 80% of bruxism cases are associated with chronic stress and anxiety. Perhaps more worrying is that the telltale signs of bruxism often don’t become apparent until the damage becomes unrestorable.
A regular habit of teeth grinding exerts excessive force on the teeth, leading to micro-fractures within the structure of the enamel. In the early stages, these microfractures can be hard to spot. Typically they manifest themselves in tooth sensitivity.
Moreover, any initial damage isn’t restricted to the teeth. Jaw malalignment, chronic headaches and facial muscle fatigue are also common symptoms of continuous clenching.
Furthermore, the vicious cycle continues if management doesn’t intervene. Consequently, bruxism leads to sleep disruption, ultimately increasing stress in the long run. The cumulative effect can significantly deteriorate your mental and physical health.
How Dentists Identify Teeth Grinding
Often, when the condition is extreme, it’s easy to identify the salient features of bruxism at home because there are obvious telltale signs like extreme wear and tear on the teeth. However, dentists employ a series of examinations to diagnose the problem early.
While carrying out a medical checkup, they will look for signs of tooth wear, such as the onset of microfractures and/or muscular discomfort, which are all typical of clenching.
Additionally, if the patient reports morning headaches, jaw tenderness, disturbed sleep, and a stressful lifestyle, this can help to confirm a final diagnosis.
If you’ve recently been diagnosed with bruxism, it isn’t all doom and gloom. You should know that there are treatment options available. So, let’s talk about those.
Treatment Options for Bruxism
Treating bruxism might be challenging, but there are three specific ways to negate the downsides of this condition.
Firstly, Medical and Dental Help
#1 – Mouthguards or splint
Custom-made nightguards or mouthguards are meant to cushion the teeth from further grinding. The type of mouth splint you’ll wear depends on your case. Soft, hybrid, hard, ultra-thin, and retainer can all be used to protect teeth from the problems caused by stress-related bruxism
One thing to note here is that custom mouthguards don’t cure the issue. Instead, they’re designed to protect dentition during a teeth-grinding session.
#2 – Medications
Severe cases of bruxism are often treated with medications as an adjunct to other therapies. Muscle relaxants and anxiety reduction medications can all be prescribed to relieve muscle tension, jaw tenderness and nighttime grinding.
#3 – Botox Injections
Botox is more than just an anti-ageing treatment. Did you know that it can also be used to treat symptoms associated with TMJ disorder – a characteristic itself associated with long-term jaw clenching? Chronic clenchers are often prescribed Botox injections to reduce muscle tension as it’s designed to relax the muscles involved in grinding and clenching.
#4 – Dental Corrections
The bi-product of excessive bruxism is worn-out teeth. Your dental provider may try to correct the bite through orthodontic treatment such as braces or aligners or give you crowns or overlays to repair the fractured teeth. But just like custom mouthguards: dental corrections are secondary and won’t make much difference until the primary cause, stress, has been alleviated.
Secondly, Specialist Stress Management Treatments
The rule of thumb for treating any medical problem is eradicating the key issue. The idea is that effective management of the condition (in this case stress) will automatically improve the trigger problem (bruxism).
The good news is that effective stress management techniques have been proven to reduce stress and alleviate the underlying causes of bruxism. A good dentist will have access to several practitioners within other key clinical areas including cognitive therapists who can provide treatments like…
#1 – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
CBT is geared towards changing a person’s cognitive behaviour by tackling negative thought patterns that contribute to anxiety. Using tools that help eliminate stresses can significantly reduce the frequency of teeth grinding. The American Journal of Psychiatry research suggests that CBT is an effective method for decreasing bruxism episodes.
#2 – Meditation Practice
Another proven stress reliever is meditation. Regular meditation, like deep breathing and yoga, is known to reduce cortisol levels, a key contributor to stress.
#3 – Progressive Muscle Relaxation
PMR promotes physical relaxation through the structured tensing and relaxing of a group of associated muscles. The idea is that when muscles are relaxed, stress is reduced and sleep quality is improved.
#4 – Biofeedback Therapy
Biofeedback has its modern conventional roots in the 1970s and is an effective treatment for a wide range of disorders. By electronically monitoring the body’s vital systems like heart rate, muscle activity, blood pressure, skin temperature and sweating, and understanding the changes that occur when your mind and body are under stress, it allows patients to introduce stress-reducing techniques that can be monitored in real-time to restore equilibrium. The idea is that a restored bio-system means better control of stress-induced problems like bruxism.
Finally, Lifestyle Adjustments
Last but not least, incorporating a healthy diet, building a good sleep routine, and getting involved in physical activity have all proven to reduce stress and anxiety levels massively. The release of endorphins found when undertaking activities like exercise promotes well-being, which, in turn, decreases stress and eventually, the underlying problems of teeth grinding.
So there you have it, everything you need to know about how stress causes teeth grinding (Bruxism) and the methods that you can use to combat the problem.
If you feel you may be suffering from the devastating effects of nocturnal bruxism, visit your local dentist as soon as possible. While a good dentist can manage the problems that bruxism causes, they can also plug you into a network of professionals who can help treat the outlying condition of stress. So don’t suffer in silence, get in touch today!