Do you ever wake up with a dull ache in your temples, a stiff neck, or a jaw that feels completely exhausted before you’ve even eaten breakfast?
There’s a good chance that you clench or grind your teeth at night, which is known as bruxism. But in addition to nighttime grinding, one common daytime habit may also contribute to your jaw fatigue.
At Cornerstone Family Dentistry, we know that background anxiety often shows up as physical habits. If you find yourself mindlessly biting your nails during your daily commute or while staring at a screen, you are putting your jaw joint through a marathon it wasn’t built to run.
Forcing the Joint to Work Overtime
Your jaw joint (the temporomandibular joint, or TMJ) functions best when your teeth open and close in a straight, balanced line. To bite a nail, you have to thrust your lower jaw forward and hold it in a strained, unnatural position. Doing this repeatedly causes the delicate muscles in your face, cheeks, and neck to lock up in a state of chronic spasm. The repeated tension leads to clicks, pops, and tension headaches.
The Vicious Cycle of Chronic Grinding
Nail-biting over-stimulates the jaw muscles during the day, creating a muscle memory of tension. When you go to sleep, those hyperactive muscles don’t know how to turn off. It frequently triggers nocturnal bruxism (nighttime teeth grinding), causing you to spend the entire night clenching down on your teeth and multiplying the damage to your smile.
Relax Your Jaw with a Custom Night Guard in Indianapolis
The first step in healing an overworked jaw is giving it a safe place to rest. At Cornerstone Family Dentistry, we fabricate custom-fitted dental mouth guards in Indianapolis, Carmel, and Danville to help our patients.
A nightguard is a therapeutic cushion for your smile that prevents tooth damage and alleviates tension on the jaw. By slightly separating your teeth, a professional night guard unloads the pressure on your TMJ, so your facial muscles can relax.
Give your jaw the relief it deserves. Contact us today to schedule your consultation with our expert dentist in Indianapolis at Cornerstone Family Dentistry.
