Bruxism: Grinding

bruxism

I want to talk about bruxism, a condition more commonly known as grinding teeth. This happens most often while sleeping, but can occur during waking hours too. Most people that grind their teeth are not aware of it, until it causes significant damage.

Why does this happen? The reasons are many, and most people will attribute it to stress. The medical establishment often identifies additional factors, such as drug side effects or interactions, genetics, the alignment of your teeth, and even numerous diseases and disorders. With these varied causes comes varied treatments. And like most medicine, this usually leaves the sufferer treating only symptoms, and often offers no real solution.

There is a better way, and a better understanding. I want to empower you with knowledge to resolve this issue yourself, with or without the help of specialists. To do this, I will break it down into three basic steps:

  • Monitor bruxism yourself.
  • Manage bruxism, until you can resolve it.
  • Stop bruxism.

It can be argued that the root cause, in most cases, is nutrition.  It is a nutritional deficiency that makes bruxism a potential side effect of most other issues. And sometimes the solution is incredibly easy. Something as simple as a magnesium supplement will resolve it for some people. Usually it is more complicated than that. Of course there are some other root causes that are not nutritionally based, and most of those are covered by a therapy that is explained below. Everybody is different, and there are a wide range of bruxism conditions and related issues, so you must adapt this information to your condition.

Before going into the nutrition, let’s give you the power to monitor it, so that you can determine if you have it, how bad or how often, and confirm that it is resolved. Thus, the first step:

Step 1: Monitor Bruxism

This part is so simple, you might be surprised. However, like everything else I will mention  in this article, it is a simple idea that must be implemented with great care. If you have an iPhone, all you need is an app. (There are apps for other smartphones as well). There are many iPhone apps, but I would recommend this one:

Bruxapp (Be sure to read and follow the instructions carefully, as they advise.)

If you understand Italian, you can visit the creator’s website here.

Using the above app, you can determine if you have bruxism, and you can monitor it, which will give you the ability to determine if your treatments are effective.

Step 2: Manage Bruxism

This is generally the only thing that happens, as people learn to manage it. But here, I am including management only as a temporary thing, as the ultimate goal is to eliminate it.

One of the most common ways to manage bruxism is with a mouth guard. A dentist can be helpful here, but is not necessary. You will get the best fit with a dentist, and the cost is usually negligible. I have no specific recommendations, other to to say that a mouth guard can be very helpful, and can also create problems, so do not rely on it as a permanent solution. You should understand both the risks and benefits of using a mouth guard.

Something that I believe is a far better, and even permanent management solution is Oralfacial Myofacial Therapy. I have writing about Myofacial Release before, and this is related to that. This treatment is not only for management, but is also a solution for permanently resolving bruxism. I list it here first because there are a wide array of therapies, and some can be done on your own. For an in depth introduction to OMT, you can read this article, which also has a twenty minute interview:

Oralfacial Myofacial Therapy

A very important point that you will learn about this therapy – it does not work unless you correct your dietary issues. So, again, we find that nutrition is still at the root. In any case, I strongly recommend getting familiar with this therapy, and doing as much as possible on your own.

Step 3: Stop Bruxism

As I mentioned above, Oralfacial Myofacial Therapy can be a permanent solution for stopping bruxism. However, it cannot be done without proper nutrition, and so this final step is all about nutrition.

If you are following the Weston A. Price dietary guidance, you probably don’t have bruxism. However, there are a great many factors that can disrupt your attempt to follow a good diet, or otherwise compromise your nutrition. Here is my quick list of ways to supplement the key nutritional factors:

(At the end of this article I recommend some other items for the mind, which would not be considered ‘nutritional’ supplements).

These lists can be made many different ways, and for some other recommendations, you can find great resources below. On my list I do not have important vitamins such as K2, A, B, C, and D because those are covered by the FCLO and Kefir. Everyone should be drinking kefir in my opinion, and FCLO can work miracles for some. The primary culprit in bruxism is often magnesium; however, your calcium levels can affect its availability, and boron and K2 are responsible for regulating calcium in the body. It is a complicated dance that is not always easy to follow. My advice? Start with a magnesium supplement as step one. Make kefir a part of your daily diet. Monitor your bruxism and continue to improve your nutrition as best as you can.

Finally: The Mind & Stress

I did not mention the role of the mind and stress, other than to say that most people attribute bruxism to stress. I wanted to speak about this separately, because stress is always a factor in our crazy modern world, and the power of the mind trumps all else.

However, there is a bit of a paradox here, as again, nutrition still remains at the root. This is because our mental state is heavily influenced by our nutrition, and so there is really no way to avoid nutrition as your best and first method of attack. Of course, by all means, you should add meditation, relaxation, and other mental approaches to your wellness arsenal. But if you find you cannot, then try some nutritional approaches to improve your mental state:

  • Tumeric. This Indian spice is famous for many health benefits, and one of those is that it seems to function as an antidepressant or mood enhancer. Absorption is much more efficient with black pepper, so it is recommended to sprinkle both spices in your food as often as possible. You could even take capsules that contain highly concentrated doses of the active ingredient, curcumin (C3 Complex with BioPerine; although I would not view that as a permanent solution.
  • Chamomile Tea. This is a naturally caffeine free tea that is perfect for drinking before bedtime. Highly recommended for its relaxing effects, it helps with many sleeping disorders. A great addition to your daily routine.
  • Supplements: I have already listed a few supplements here, but generally speaking, I try to avoid them if I can, as I prefer to get everything from food if possible. However, there are some important nutrients that most of us cannot get from our food anymore, such as magnesium and MSM. When it comes to ‘mood enhancement’ there are many different supplements that are marketed with such claims, and perhaps some of them may be beneficial for you. I would prefer to stick with herbs and spices and teas as part of my food intake.
  • Bach Flower Remedy. This is a separate issue to discuss, but could be the key for some people. I have an article about it here, and I highly recommend looking at it, as I have seen these work wonders.

Your mind is your most powerful weapon, and it can often defy all logic to overcome obstacles. 


Further reading:

The Thinking Mom’s Revolution: This is a mom that cured autism in two of her children. Her article is quite long and has some different approaches.

Health Wyze Report: A short article that has a nice summary of the key nutritional elements that are often identified as keys to solving bruxism.

Doctor Oz: If you are fan of Doctor Oz, he has a short article here that highlights the same nutritional elements.

Pro Teeth Guard: Another easy read with the same advice. This is a bit interesting because it is a commercial site that is selling a product, but still gives the right advice.

If you do a search on bruxism and nutrition you will find many more resources. Whatever you do, do it carefully. Monitor your progress and adjust your diet as needed.

Good luck.

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