Robust Chompers

Jaw clenching? Teeth grinding?

Have you been to the dentist and told you clench your jaw or grind your teeth in your sleep? Maybe you even notice yourself doing it during the day?

This observation is usually followed by a recommendation for a dental device to prevent wear on your chompers. A recommendation that has cost me about $400 every time I needed a new one.

Because they do wear out and they are oh so easy to leave behind at a hotel!

But have you ever wondered: what is the root cause of my jaw clenching so forcefully that my teeth are damaged?

Maybe you even have pain or discomfort in your jaw muscles and have been told you can massage them yourself, reduce stress in your life, or take a pain reliever.

There is a root cause

The fancy medical term for the clenching and grinding is bruxism. And I meet a lot of folks who are suffering from this condition each week.

No dentist has ever taken the time to explain to me that there is a root cause to clenching and grinding the jaw in our sleep. I’m not sure they know more than the profit margin of the devices they peddle.

The root cause of clenching and grinding can be found in the most primitive part of the brain.

So, yes, it is stress. But it is a pattern in the brain that becomes more and more engrained over time. The way I see it, humans have never been as stimulated as we are at this time in history. Our hardware simply did not evolve with so much nervous system activation.

We are also discovering that low vitamin D can have an influence.

And it causes many people a lot of suffering that they rarely talk about outside of the dentist chair.

What can you do?

The reason I meet so many folks with this issue is that CranioSacral therapy is effective at unwinding this neurological pattern.

CranioSacral therapy, and especially the mouthwork protocols, loosen up the muscles of the jaw as well as stretch the connective tissues in and around the brain and jaw from inside the mouth.

Yes, we wear a glove!

This work is becoming a specialty for me. I have experienced clenching and grinding for at least a decade and getting CranioSacral support has decreased it significantly.

If it’s an issue you are ready to work on, you can find a therapist near you at iahp.com. Select “Find a therapist” in the upper right corner.

If you live in the Bay area, come see me in Oakland or Berkeley. If you live in the LA area, I’m planning a trip through to do some in home appointments. Hit reply and let me know if you’d like to know specifics.