Have you looked around lately and wondered why everyone seems so angry? Maybe yourself, included?
I know it's not everyone, but there really seems to be a whole segment of society that is just angry or pick an adjective — troubled, weary, impatient, cranky.
Some are smiling through clenched teeth and I may know why.
Brace yourself: I think it all comes down to stress.
The reason this came to me recently was that I had a major toothache.
Everyone knows a toothache really gets on your nerves, literally. You can’t seem to focus on anything but the throbbing. You can’t eat (a personal tragedy) and you can’t sleep (also a crisis).
A trip to the dentist turned up a cracked molar.
But what I found really fascinating is that the dentist says he has fixed hundreds of cracked teeth post-COVID. He believes the stress we all felt before and during the pandemic, and now after as we try to regroup, is causing so much stress that many are grinding their teeth.
Health issues, finances, job stability, relationships ... we all know the list. There's always that looming fear the virus will come back.
I had no clue I was clenching, although sometimes I would wake up with jaw pain.
The official name is bruxism. It can manifest as a swollen or sore jaw, broken or chipped teeth, and even severe headaches.
It’s so interesting that if you are holding in stress that no matter how you think you are hiding it or dealing with it, it will find a way to bite you. Pun intended.
Quoting from a blog called Chomperlife: “Sleep, stress and grinding are triple trouble. When we are in an active stress state, our muscles are tense and ready for action (fight or flight). Muscles in the jaw aren’t immune to stress hormones and may react in a similar way. The physical tension we are holding results in teeth grinding. To make matters more complicated, teeth grinding can lower your quality of sleep. A 2016 study indicated that sleep bruxism occurred the majority of the time during stages of light sleep and less than 10 per cent of the time in stages of deep sleep.”
So, there’s a vicious cycle. Stress leads to teeth grinding, which leads to more time to clench and grind.
Aside from the usual ideas for stress relief such as exercise, reading, music and enjoying fun activities, the other suggestion was night guards. Those are the hard, plastic oral appliances that go over your top and bottom teeth. I always called them retainers.
While there are some over-the-counter types, dentists suggest you get proper ones designed for your teeth.
I expect that’s not a cheap fix, but maybe a more long-term one.
I may re-record this Nat King Cole classic to fit the situation.
“Smile though your jaw is aching,
Smile as your teeth are breaking,
If there is stress all the while,
You’ll get by if you just smile."
