Medical Massage for Teeth Grinding (aka Bruxism)

Medical Massage for Teeth Grinding (aka Bruxism)
Are you a tooth grinder? The medical term is “Bruxism” and it affects 10-15% of adults & children.
Medical Science has determined the main cause for bruxism in adults is… wait for it… stress! So where
possible, reduce or delegate what is stressful in your life. But sometimes we can’t avoid the job, the
family, or the health issues that make stress so prevalent. Luckily, there’s another remedy.
Clinical studies have found that people who utilized therapeutic massage and night guards have a
success rate of 75% compared to 64% in the group with surgical disk replacement. (Without the risky
side effects of surgery!)
The bite of every person is unique and is formed by the fixed upper jaw and the mobile lower jaw. We
can actively change the bite during chewing by adjusting our jaw to the amount and structure of the
food. Thus, the mastication (chewing) muscles control the bite. “TMJ” is when a person has pain and
tension in the Temporomandibular Joint area as a result of its dysfunction. The jaw muscles will exhibit
increased pressure or tone.
This tension will change the person’s normal bite. This also will typically lead to night teeth grinding. The
dentist can see the wear on the teeth from this activity and suggest a night guard. The process of
obtaining a night guard is there is an impression made of the inside mouth, then the guard is created
with that impression. So if the dentist takes the impression for the night guard without first requiring
corrective action to the muscle the night guard created from the impression will not reflect the patient’s
normal bite, but rather the pathologically changed one.
When the patient starts to use the night guard created she will have a difficult time adjusting to it at
night and it may make the clinical picture of TMJ worse. However, if the patient went through at least
three session of Therapeutic Massage with the last session conducted on the same day that the dentist
makes the impression of the bite, this correct impression will reflect the patient's normal bite. This can
effectively be used as a night guard against bruxism and as a therapeutic device, which reduces tension
in the masticatory muscles during the night.
There are study cases indicating that many people have had to return to their dentist and get additional
night guards because they could not adjust to the one that they brought home. This could get quite
expensive at these night guards cost between $300 and $500. Not only does the therapeutic massage
prepare the mouth for a correct impression is also offers the other benefits of massage such as reducing
stress that can help alleviate the symptoms.
Book an appointment or ask a question today.