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If you have a good posture, the jaw can relax into what is called the “TMJ Rest position”. Being in this position helps decrease stresses on the jaw muscles and TMJ structures. You’ll know you’re in the TMJ rest position when your tongue is gently resting up on the roof of the mouth, your teeth are slightly apart and your lips are together. Also with people who are not grinding, the intensity with which the teeth touch while eating is minimal except if they are chewing nuts/hard/raw foods! But these days most of the times we are eating processed foods. So we hardly wear our teeth due to our actual chewing forces.

For individuals who are clenching and grinding their teeth daily, their teeth touch for much MORE LONGER than the average 15 mins! And also with much MORE INTENSITY! The TMJ IS ALSO MORE ACTIVE because it is no longer in the rest position! All these together lead to increased wear and tear on the enamel and increased load on the TMJ and the surrounding muscles! What happens to these constant heavy forces!!! Every action has an equal and opposite reaction! The enamel succumbs to the constant high intensity forces! Its like a hammer banging on the wall continuously! Microscopic cracks start developing on the teeth, causing increased wear and loss of enamel. It also causes abfractions (fracture on enamel near the gum line) which gets worse when we use our electric/maual tooth brushes aggressively! Patients comes in with complaints that they have cracking teeth/fillings/crowns, report of sensitivity, pain in the TMJ region, headaches, pain in the side of the forehead, migraines, dull aches in the jaw, etc, etc.

So when you think back at what causes all these symptoms, the answer is the repeated contacting of teeth. So how can you stop your teeth from touching each other? Simple! Keep your teeth slightly apart! This is called the rest position of the TMJ. If the TMJ is in rest position, then the TMJ muscles will be at rest. Also if the teeth don’t touch, the enamel will not wear. If you can keep your teeth slightly apart then you don’t need to get a nightguard. But what happens at night while sleeping! You forget that you have to keep your TMJ in rest position. And start grinding during your sleep and start overloading your teeth and the TMJ. That’s when a Nightguard can help! If you are aware you are grinding, then protect your teeth with a NIGHTGUARD!

“True prevention is not waiting for bad things to happen, it’s preventing things from happening in the first place.”- Don McPherson