Why do I grind my teeth when I sleep?

Do you wake up with a headache or tightness in the jaw or have very sensitive teeth? You might be suffering from sleep bruxism—the clenching or grinding of your teeth during the night.

Bruxism affects around 1 in 10 people, although many don’t realize until their sleep partner comments or their dentist notices particular patterns of wear on their teeth. The muscles of the jaw are among the strongest in the body, and when you grind your teeth, these muscles go into hyperfunction and become constricted. This can lead to tension headaches, tooth fractures, changes to face shape, and jaw pain.

For about 70 percent of sufferers, bruxism stems from stress and anxiety, as teeth clenching and holding tension in the jaw and neck are common stress responses. For the other 30 percent, it appears to be genetic, comes down to bone structure, or occurs alongside another sleep disorder.

HOW TO MANAGE BRUXISM

• A dentist specially trained in dental sleep medicine can issue you a mouth guard to decompress the jaw. This will help reduce tension and pain as you sleep.

• If you suspect stress, and/or anxiety may be to blame, look at ways to relax or seek support—a course of CBTI may help you manage your responses to stress.

• If you suffer from another sleep disorder, such as obstructive sleep apnea, addressing the underlying causes of this could also relieve your bruxism.

• For severe cases, botox injections, which relax the jaw muscles involved in teeth grinding, could help.

• Self-massage can relieve constriction of the muscles in the jaw, temples, and neck—see below.

Tension-beating massage

Take the index and middle fingers of both hands. Using fingertips, gently massage the muscles of the jaw, the temples, and the neck on both sides of your face in a circular motion. Whenever you feel tension and pain, massage each location for up to a minute at a time.

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