Normal chewing applies forces of around 25 to 50 pounds on the back molar teeth. clenching and grinding have been shown to create forces as high as 250 pounds during sleep. During normal chewing the upper and lower teeth may come into contact only for… Read More »Do You Have Bruxism?
Stacy’s Note: This is a guest post written by Lee Weinstein, inventor of the SleepGuard biofeedback headband. Lee has designed hospital medical equipment for Hewlett Packard, and has taught electrical engineering at MIT.
For many people, TMJ symptoms stem from habitual teeth clenching during sleep.
You may have heard of the term “sleep bruxism”, which includes both clenching and grinding. Everyone who grinds his or her teeth clenches as part of the grinding, but not everyone who clenches grinds. The grinding part causes tooth wear, but most of the problems of TMJ Disorder come directly from the clenching.
In this article we’ll take a look at three main things:
1. Why clenching causes so much more damage than chewing.
2. How diverse symptoms such as migraines, jaw pain, neck pain, TMJ joint problems, loose teeth, receding gums, and root canals can all come from clenching.
3. How nighttime clenching becomes a habit (and why the clenching habit remains even when you remove the original cause).Read More »The Link Between TMJ Disorder and Nighttime Clenching