Bruxism, which the clenching and grinding of your teeth, can damage your enamel, cause malocclusion, breaks in your teeth, temporomandibular joint disorder or even teeth loss. This is a common problem and most people suffering from bruxism don’t even know they have it.
There are however treatments available that can reduce or eliminate grinding together with it’s unpleasant side effects. Physical therapy offers exercises that can help with bruxism.
What Are Bruxism Exercises?
Awareness exercises are used to determine triggers for your teeth grinding. Common triggers include anger, stress or boredom. Focusing on the position of your teeth and tongue can help avoid a clenching session. By placing your tongue againsts the back of your top teeth, is a good way to prevent your teeth from grinding. Once you figure out your personal triggers, you can use this exercise to stop those triggers from affecting you.
Another cause of bruxism is tension in the jaw. It can lead to headaches and arches in the jaw joint. Try to relax your jaw muscles to manage this condition. Whenever you feel your jaw tensing up, try to get into a relaxed position. Stretching exercises, massages or even physical therapy are some of the other ways you can relieve jaw tension. Physical therapy is a really effective method since your therapist can create a treatment plan specifically for you.
One of the best things you can do for your overall health, is to reduce stress. Relaxation exercises are great for maintaining normal blood pressure, reducing overall wear and tear on your body including your teeth and helping you sleep better. Meditation and focuses relaxation also great ways of reducing stress.
Talk to your dentist to see which of these approaches will work best for your individual situation.
Do Bruxism Exercises Really Work?
Although this is still being investigated, but so far the Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association, has found that bruxism do help to alleviate some of the symptoms. If none of these exercises help, talk to your dentist. Orthodontic treatment might be required to restore proper alignment to your teeth.