Thirty to 40 million Americans
grind their teeth at night.
That's roughly 10% of the US population,
and chronic teeth grinding can lead
to painful issues from tooth fractures
to changes in facial appearance.
But the worst part is
you could be a teeth grinder
and not even know it.
Every time a grinder gnashes their back molars together,
they exert as much as 200 pounds of
pressure per square inch.
That's 10 times the force you exert on your teeth
when you chew normally.
This pressure can crack and fracture teeth
and eventually even wear them down to stumps,
which can then require root canals, implants,
or dentures.
But it's not just your teeth that take a beating.
If you suffer from chronic grinding, also called
bruxism in the medical community, you could be
grinding your teeth for up to 40 minutes for
every hour you're asleep.
That's enough to cause headaches and a sore jaw
in the morning,
and if you keep it up night after night,
it could permanently damage your jaw.
Researchers estimate that 20% of teeth grinders
have symptoms of a painful jaw condition
called TMD.
TMD affects the movement of your
temporomandibular joints.
These joints connect your jaw to your skull,
helping you eat, chew, and talk.
But when you grind your teeth incessantly,
you can overwork these joints.
One study found that when these muscles work overtime,
they become tender and enlarged,
making your face look more square and masculine.
What's more, the sound of grinding teeth could
be enough to damage your hearing.
Researchers who examined 400 university students
found a strong correlation between grinding
and tinnitus.
Tinnitus is a hearing condition that causes
ringing in your ears and can lead to hearing loss.
But perhaps the scariest part of all of this,
unless your roommate or a partner hears you
grinding your teeth at night, you might not
even realize you're doing it
until your dentist notices the damage.
And chances are, you've probably done it yourself.
An estimated 85 to 90% of the population will grind
or clench their teeth to some degree.
And while there's no simple cure for bruxism,
there's still hope.
A mouth guard, for instance,
won't stop you from grinding altogether,
but it will stop your molars
from wearing your teeth down to stumps.
And since grinding is often caused by stress
and anxiety, some doctors recommend counseling
and meditation.
So maybe a solution
to your teeth-grinding problem
is a nice long vacation.
Doesn't sound too bad, right?