Teeth grinding is often related to stress or anxiety. It can also be associated with obstructive sleep syndrome, antidepressant medications (such as paroxetine, fluoxetine and sertraline), excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, use of recreational drugs or excessive caffeine intake.
Teeth grinding can cause disrupted sleep, facial pain, earache, headaches, pain and stiffness in the jaw joint and worn down, sensitive or broken teeth.
At Bedford Skin Clinic we administer Botox for teeth grinding. The muscles responsible for enabling chewing and clenching of the jaw are known as the masseter muscles. Within days of its administration Botox takes effect by weakening these muscles. In the majority of cases reinjection is required between six and 12 months.