TEETH GRINDING & NIGHT GUARDS

Orthotic devices such as night guards, arch supports, knee braces, lumbar belts, etc., confuse your muscles, telling them they don’t have to work. An arch support may hold up your arch; but in doing so will put to sleep the muscles designed to maintain the arch. The mechanical arch support may give local relief; but muscles don’t only work locally, they communicate throughout the body.

Your body is smarter than any orthotic device.

Your muscles are designed to work, and designed to work together. Any device that prevents muscles from working together undermines the body, putting at risk the integrity of the spine, the joints, and the nervous system.

Teeth grinding is the body’s way of telling you, you are too tense!

A night guard can stop your teeth grinding; but it cannot prevent or change unconscious behaviors that cause the build up of so much tension during the day.

Teeth grinding is not a separate event.

Habitual nodding, rounded shoulders, depressed ribs, compressed neck, head tilt and twist are the primary cause of teeth grinding. Poor mechanical position of the teeth in chewing is rarely the only cause. You are not helpless in the face of teeth grinding. Your own behavior is the cause.

Most important, quit nodding!

Changing muscle tension to muscle spring, lifting the ribs, opening the shoulders, arching the shoulder blades, floating the skull are all easily applied remedies. (See Jaw Release; Skull Hinge & Swivel, Springy Brace, Tongue Poise – Jaw Ease- Skull Float, Door Spring, & Wide Pushup.)

Grinding the teeth is a sign of muscle imbalance. You can reprogram the jaw, neck, and shoulder muscles to relax the tongue, float the skull, and ease the jaw. All it takes is a little spring, and the human frame is designed to spring! Spring transforms tension to lift, restoring muscle balance and relieving pressure on nerves. Relieving jaw tension encourages spring, strength and balance throughout the body.