TMJ or Teeth Grinding can produce morning headaches, shoulder, neck or jaw pain!
Has your dentist ever said that you have TMJ, or you are grinding or clenching your teeth when asleep, wearing them down? Whether you call it TMJ, night-grinding, flattening your teeth, clenching or bruxing, the chances are that you are a woman with this malady. Why? Because TMJ or any of the nightly symptoms affect 8 times more women than men. Talk about a sexist disease!
Why is that so? The research still isn’t completely sure, but one of the reasons may be that men’s TMJ cheek musculature is stronger, and less susceptible to the afflictions that TMJ or teeth grinding bring on: morning headaches, shoulder, neck or back aches upon awakening. Although I have my share of male comrades with TMJ, it never ceases to amaze me of the preponderance of women with it.
Thanks to the dental almighty, that we have the newer front teeth-fitting nightguards that are so much more comfortable than the older guards that fit over all the teeth. These newer nightguards (such as the ‘NTI’) work by keeping your back teeth from hitting, grinding or clenching during sleep. The result? Your cheek muscles have been allowed to rest during the night and are not innervated by constant nightly activity of teeth grinding.
So, male or female, at last we have a great treatment for the majority of TMJ/grinding cases!
For more information, please go to Dr. Ed Reifman’s popular TMJ Teeth Grinding page.
