Latest Expert Witness News

Stress might send you to the dentist

Stress can manifest itself in many strange ways so if you find you are waking up with a headache for no apparent reason, it could be that you’re grinding your teeth.

The proper medical term for grinding is bruxism. The action is quite common, according to the British Dental Health Foundation up to one in four people may have symptoms.

The joint between the upper and lower jaws is called the temperomandibular joint (TMJ). This forms the hinge connecting the skull and lower jaw at the side of the face.

The jaw is held in place by muscle and the bones are separated by a disc of cartilage, which acts as a shock absorber.

When this becomes loose as a result of bruxism, it moves with the jaw making a click as it does so. Occasional grinding doesn’t do much harm but if you are a muscle-bound bodybuilder you’re likely to have strong cheek muscles and you could easily be exerting in excess of 100kg every time you gnash together.

Repetitive grinding might result not only in broken teeth and a sore jaw but also a hefty bill from your dentist for treatment to repair the damage.

The cause of this can be stress also frequent chewing of gum, amphetamine abuse, excessive smoking and consumption of alcohol and caffeine can exacerbate the problem, as can prescription drugs such as anti-psychotic and antidepressants.

back