Bruxism is an involuntary clenching or grinding of teeth. Abnormal tooth wear or fractures may occur. This may happen while you sleep or unconsciously while you are awake. You may suffer from jaw pain or aching muscles in your face, often on waking. Your teeth become more worn with enamel damage or fracturing of teeth.

Who does grinding/clenching affect

If you are affected by bruxism, you are not alone. It is estimated to affect between 50-95% of the population.

How teeth grinding may affect you.

You may have

  • Overly sensitive teeth
  • Chipped or cracked teeth,
  • Facial pain
  • Tense facial and jaw muscles
  • Headaches
  • Dislocation of the jaw
  • Locking of the jaw
  • Tooth enamel may wear away.
  • Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) may be clicky or pop.
  • Cheek damage
  • Smooth or flat areas created on the biting surfaces of the teeth

What treatment do we offer you at MedicaSkin Clinic.

A muscle relaxant is injected into the masseter muscles. These muscles cause the jaw to clench. We have devised a protocol based on 20+ years of injecting masseters.

You can still move your jaw because the masseter is a large muscle, but you won’t have as much tension in the muscles that cause clenching and discomfort.

The anti-wrinkle injection takes a few weeks to take effect. You may notice some weakness when you chew, over the first week or so

We follow-up at 1 month with a repeat treatment.

Maintenance

The muscle relaxant gradually wears off and repeat treatment is required. After sufficiently weakening the masseters, maintenance treatments may occur once or twice a year.

If you think you may be experiencing pain from a TMJ disorder, it is imperative that you speak to a health professional for a proper diagnosis and personalised recommendations before going ahead with any treatments or remedies.

Your healthcare provider will assess the best treatment based on:

  • How old you are
  • Your overall health and medical history
  • How well you can handle specific medicines, procedures, or therapies
  • Your opinion or preference

In most cases, bruxism can be successfully treated.