Nearly one in every three people tend to grind their teeth while sleeping or during the day. Many people suffer from awake bruxism or sleep bruxism and don’t even know what all their symptoms represent. Awake bruxism is when a person clenches and grinds their own teeth while they are awake and sleep bruxism is when a person does the same thing while they are sleeping. But there are some efficient natural treatment options or remedies you can use to fight bruxism and that’s exactly what we’ll be talking about in this article.
Bruxism Natural Treatment – Options And Methods
1) Muscle Stretching Exercises
Specific muscle stretching exercises can help in reducing tooth grinding as well as prevent its recurrence. Such exercises include:
- Jaw Exercise: During this exercise, a person opens their mouth as wide as they comfortably can as they try to touch their tongue to their front teeth. This exercise helps in relaxing one’s jaw muscles.
- Mindful Teeth Placement: During this exercise, a person maintains the gap between their upper and lower teeth in order to avoid clenching or grinding. This exercise can be done anytime, except while chewing.
2) Warm Compress
If clenching teeth is done unconsciously, then a warm compress can help in relaxing the muscles as well as increase blood circulation in an area. Try lying down and resting one side of a face on the heating pad. Then apply the warm compress for approximately fifteen minutes and repeat what you just did on the other side as well.
3) Include Magnesium-Rich Food In Your Diet
Magnesium helps in relaxation as well as regulates your mood. Try including magnesium-rich foods, such as boiled spinach, dry roasted almonds, fish, peanut butter, bananas, flaxseed, and black-eyed peas in your diet. All these foods can aid in relaxing your blood vessels as well as muscle tissues and prevent teeth grinding that is caused by spasming or tight jaw muscles. Additionally, you may take magnesium supplements as well, but it is recommended to consult the nutritionist or doctor first.
4) Drink Turmeric Milk
Turmeric is characterized by its anti-inflammatory properties aiding in relieving the aching jaw muscles. The amino acid tryptophan that milk contains can help in relaxing the nervous system while promoting sound sleep. In case you don’t like how the turmeric milk tastes, you can try adding honey for sweetness to improve its taste and then drink a glass every night before you go to bed to get the desired results.
5) Drink Herbal Tea
Rather than drinking caffeinated beverages such as coffee, you should try to consume non-caffeinated alternatives and opt for chamomile or herbal tea because they are great for naturally reducing the stress while alleviating the teeth grinding symptoms in sleep since the condition is usually aggravated by nervous tension. In other words, herbal tea can relax your mind as well as body and keep you calm, so try drinking a cup of green tea before bedtime in order to reduce the chances of clenching or grinding teeth while sleeping.
6) Splint Therapy
During splint therapy, a person wears a customized bite guard, dental night guard, or occlusal splint. A guard can provide a much needed physical barrier for protecting teeth while helping in alleviating symptoms, such as headache and jaw pain. You have two options; Either buy the generic one from the drugstore or you can get the custom one made by the dentist. The dentist will take the impression of the upper as well as lower teeth in order to create a customized mouthguard that perfectly fits the jaw.
Other Tips
In some cases, bruxism is a formed or learned habit instead of the indication of some medical condition. When that is the case, biofeedback can be the effective treatment option for both sleep and awake bruxism. It is the process during which an individual is trained to understand as well as control their own unconscious physical actions and mental activity.
For those whose bruxism is stress-related, methods for managing stress help in reducing or eliminating teeth grinding. The most common stress management techniques are yoga, exercise, meditation, as well as essential oils.
For people with accompanying sleep-related movement disorders like restless leg syndrome, valerian root can be taken as well. One study published in 2009 by the University of Pennsylvania discovered that eight hundred mg of valerian root taken over the span of the eight-week period significantly improved the symptoms of RLS. As for sleep bruxism itself, it is considered a sleep-related movement disorder showing similar effects.
Increasing one’s intake of Vitamin C can help in reducing grinding and clenching teeth as well, especially when coupled with stress management techniques or cognitive behavioral therapy. Vitamin C can contribute to your ability to efficiently respond to stress as well as regulate mood (1).
Resolving the magnesium deficiency helps in resolving conditions like insomnia and anxiety as well. You can resolve Magnesium deficiency by taking four hundred mg of a high-quality supplement before you go to bed. Also, consume foods that contain magnesium like spinach, bananas, avocados, kefir, yogurt, and almonds.
B-Complex vitamins remain essential to your overall health as well, so the B-vitamin deficiency may trigger symptoms that are associated with bruxism like stress, depression, and panic attacks. In case you’re experiencing these symptoms, consult a dentist or doctor as they’ll provide you with the help you need to resolve the symptoms.
Final Thoughts
To successfully treat and prevent teeth grinding, first you need to get rid of any underlying cause. If it’s stress-related, then stress management exercises can help in resolving it and it’d be even better if you mix it with splint therapy and a balanced diet. Additionally, you can also try relaxation techniques as well as natural treatment options mentioned above. In other words, first, identify what the cause of your bruxism is, and then depending on it, carefully consider all the options you have so that you can take the necessary steps and choose the most optimal natural treatment option to eradicate symptoms and get rid of bruxism.
