Waking up with a painful jaw and wondering why?
You might be experiencing bruxism.

You won’t realize you are even doing it. It is subconscious tension causing your jaw to clench together and even create a grinding motion wearing away at your teeth. It can, over time, cause undue wear and tear on your teeth as well as potential misalignments on your jaw.

Bruxism is diagnosed by looking visually at the wear of teeth, inside mouth bite marks, reports of tooth grinding noises during sleep, and a feeling of jaw exhaustion and tiredness.

Night time teeth grinding even sometimes wakes you up during the night needing an anti-inflammatory or ice application. An ice pack can help sooth the discomfort.

Surprisingly spinal subluxations can cause bruxism. Once corrected through chiropractic treatment and adjustments, the grinding stops.

Some possible solutions are to wear a dental guard at night, take turmeric daily (a natural anti-inflammatory), and if necessary, keep an ice pack in the freezer. While these all help, the real cause can stem from stress and or a misaligned set of teeth or your jaw being slightly off.

If jaw or tooth pain is keeping you up at night your first stop may be your dentist to check to make sure your teeth are healthy but we also highly recommend a visit your chiropractor for an exam and adjustment. Living with jaw pain can be unbearable. There is no reason to go on day to day like that.

• Take Turmeric daily
• Wear a mouth guard at night
• Reduce your stress levels
• Use an ice pack to reduce inflammation
• Visit your dentist to rule out tooth issues
• Take Nsaid anti-inflammatories only when necessary
• Visit your chiropractor and get the root cause adjusted

Bruxism is not the same as TMJ.

TMJ disorder is a condition which involves pain and improper function of the muscles and joints that attach the lower jaw to the skull. It can be helped through chiropractic treatment as well, but requires a much longer course of treatment and is more difficult to correct.

Dr. Jason B. Kaster, a chiropractor in Fort Myers can help you and your family achieve their optimal health.