Bruxism

I have a friend (about 31) who suffers badly from bruxism (nocturnal
tooth-grinding). He awakes with terrible facial pain and as a result
he doesn’t get much sleep. Life has become something of a nightmare
for him.
  He has been to see dentists, doctors and physiotherapists – they
have suggested a few things to ameliorate the symptoms but seem unable
to suggest anything to cure the problem.
  Has anyone been through all this or know anything about this problem?

3 Responses to “Bruxism”

  1. admin says:

    On <Fri, Aug 10 13:01>, UUCP (HOW…@insted.unimelb.edu.au

    ) wrote:

     >I have a friend (about 31) who suffers badly from bruxism (nocturnal
     >tooth-grinding). He awakes with terrible facial pain and as a result
     >he doesn’t get much sleep. Life has become something of a nightmare
     >for him.
     >  He has been to see dentists, doctors and physiotherapists – they
     >have suggested a few things to ameliorate the symptoms but seem unable
     >to suggest anything to cure the problem.

    Has anyone suggested or constructed him a bruxism splint?

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  2. admin says:

    In article <26C36…@stjhmc.fidonet.org>, David Dodell writes:
    > On <Fri, Aug 10 13:01>, UUCP (HOW…@insted.unimelb.edu.au writes:
    > > I have a friend (about 31) who suffers badly from bruxism (nocturnal
    > > tooth-grinding). He awakes with terrible facial pain and as a result
    > > he doesn’t get much sleep. Life has become something of a nightmare
    > > for him.
    > > He has been to see dentists, doctors and physiotherapists – they
    > > have suggested a few things to ameliorate the symptoms but seem unable
    > > to suggest anything to cure the problem.

    > Has anyone suggested or constructed him a bruxism splint?

    In addition to the splint, which can reduce the structural damage
    caused by bruxism but not always eliminate it, I have a few
    additional suggestions:

    Try to identify the cause of the bruxism.  It’s been my
    experience that bruxism can be caused by tension and stress, an
    occlusal disharmony of recent origin (ie a filling or crown that’s
    "high"), and undiagnosed endodontic problems, ie an abscess.

    The following exercises, based on a program of physical therapy
    developed by Lazlow Schwartz (_Disorders of the Temperomandibular
    Joint_) may provide a significant measure of relief:

      a) Open mouth moderately wide ten times.
      b) Place fist under chin and open wide against pressure of the fist
         three times.
      c) Repeat a and b.
      d) Do the whole series four times a day.


    Russell Lawrence, WP Group, New Orleans (504) 443-5000
    r…@wpg.com   uunet!wpg!russ

  3. admin says:

    >From: HOW…@insted.unimelb.edu.au
    >Date: 10 Aug 90 13:01:39 GMT
    >Organization: Institute of Education, University of Melbourne
    >Message-ID: <4…@insted.unimelb.edu.au>
    >Newsgroups: sci.med
    >I have a friend (about 31) who suffers badly from bruxism (nocturnal
    >tooth-grinding).
    >  Has anyone been through all this or know anything about this
    > problem?

            Well, Michel Van Zandijcke and Marcel MB Marchau
            from Belgium reported this year in the "letters to
            the Editor" of Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery,
            and Psychiatry about the successful treatment of a
            32 year old woman who developed bruxism as a result
            of brain contusion with botulinum toxin injection
            to the temporal and masseter muscles.

            I think this is the first reported case of using
            botulinum toxin in the treatment of bruxism.

            Regards
            Siupak Lee, M.D.
            Panchiao, Taiwan

    –  
    Uucp: …{gatech,ames,rutgers}!ncar!asuvax!stjhmc!3!720!1!Siu.Pak
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