Bruxism is the term given to grinding teeth. It can be very distressing for patients and it causes wear of the teeth as well as headaches. Patients often complain of a morning headache, because they have been tensing and grinding the teeth at night. A significant number of people suffer from bruxism often at night while asleep with little knowledge that it is happening. This night time tooth clenching and grinding commonly results in tooth wear, tooth breakage, tooth splitting or root fracture, breaking or loosing fillings etc. The force of the muscles acting on the jaws during sleep in patients who clench and grind can be greatly reduced with the careful administration of Botox injections into particular jaw and face muscles.
If you place your fingers on your temples and grind your teeth you can feel the muscle ‘temporalis’ contracting. Imagine that you are contracting this muscle over and over again in your sleep and you get a good understanding of why patients wake up with headaches. Tooth grinding can be helped by using a mouthguard at night which protects the teeth. Your dentist can recommend someone that can fit you with one.
Bruxism can be treated by using a dental mouthguard provided by the dentist. At Parker Dermatology we can treat tooth grinding with anti-wrinkle injections. Using between 3 and 5 small injections into the masseter muscle it can relax the muscle and reduce biting at night. The masseter muscle is responsible for biting and can be felt contracting at the back of the jaw when you bite.
Therapeutic Botox injections for bruxism and jaw clenching are administered by specialist dermatologists at our clinics in Sea Point, Century City and Somerset West. Let us know if you would like to schedule a consultation to discuss the various aesthetic treatments we offer. Dr Parker has practice locations in Sea Point, Camps Bay, Century City and Somerset West, Cape Town.
To book an appointment contact us at:
info@parkerdermatologycapetown.co.za
021 840 7108
