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Bruxism, better known as teeth grinding or clenching, can permanently damage not only your teeth but affect jaws joints or cause ear ache, headaches and other health problems

It can be brought about by a single issue or by a combination of different factors. Whether or not hypnotherapy can help depends upon which issues are involved. In other words, whether the cause or causes are physical – when hypnotherapy is probably not appropriate – or psychological when it may well be appropriate.

For instance in children teeth grinding may be due to physical factors such as the way teeth or jaws have grown or it can be a response to another pain. 

In rare cases bruxism can be a reaction to certain medication such as antidepressants and other causes can be alcohol, tobacco high levels of caffeine and recreational drugs.

However emotional/psychological issues are frequently why someone grinds or clenches their teeth – for bruxism is often a stress symptom. 

The potential for hypnotherapy to help is confirmed by the United Kingdom's Bruxism Association which states on its website "Hypnosis has long been under review and some bruxists have found profound relief from problems related to sleep bruxism.

"One study reviewed the long-terms effects of hypnosis and a positive outcome was still applicable even after 36 months. This treatment has promise, and for some it may be successful."

In many cases bruxism is linked to conditions known as temporomandibular disorders (helpfully shortened to TMDs) and these do include malocclusion which when someone suffers from a "bad bite" which can cause difficulties when chewing or biting, even when swallowing or talking.

However TMDs is something of a “catchall” term covering a range of conditions affecting jaw joints and muscles and though traditionally it was thought the chief cause was the way a person's jaw and teeth lined up, today it is generally accepted there are often numerous factors working together and in some cases the underlying problem is stress in one form or another.

Which is one reason why hypnotherapy may help – though not the only one. For instance TMDs can also be affected by personal habits such constantly chewing gum or gnawing pencil tops.

Bruxism broadly occurs in two forms; (1) awake bruxism with involuntary teeth clenching and jaw bracing  or (2) sleep bruxism with teeth grinding and jaw muscle contractions. 

Sleep bruxism seems to be more common but even with cases of awake bruxism the person concerned may not be aware of it.  This can be because it is a subconscious behaviour triggered by those emotional or psychological factors.

The number of people affected may be surprisingly high; Stanford University School of Medicine, Sleep Disorders Center studied more than 13,000 patients in Britain, Germany and Italy  and found  over eight per experienced sleep bruxism.

The researchers concluded the condition was “common in the general population and represented the third most frequent parasomnia” - sleep disorders involving abnormal movements, behaviour or emotions.

The condition affects children and adults, though it is most commons between 25 to 44 years. Those  with sleep bruxism may not know what they are doing their wives, husbands or partners who sleep in the same room are usually only too well aware – because of the noise the grinding makes.

Certainly bruxism can exert extremely powerful forces on teeth, gums, and joints. Estimates of just how substantial those forces can be have ranged from three times the forces required to chew food to as much as ten times – said to be enough to "crack a walnut."

The reason for such extraordinary force is that the grinding or clenching is not under the control of the conscious brain, which would act to moderate or prevent such actions, but is essentially an unconscious behaviour.

This unconscious behaviour may be due to stress or anxiety or the consequence of  anger – especially unresolved anger – frustration or may even be due to strong competitiveness.

Fortunately hypnotherapy offers effective ways overcoming these  emotional/psychological problems.

If you have been diagnosed as suffering from bruxism, teeth grinding or clenching and would like to find out how hypnotherapy could help you, then you can discuss the options by contacting the Therapy Partnership for a free consultation.

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