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Jul 2, 2009 5:53 pm US/Central
Teeth Grinding Increase May Be Linked To Economy
(WCCO)
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Dr. Fu Wong has been doing a lot of this lately and he will be the first to tell you that work has been a grind, literally.
CBS
The sound of a drill. Something most people dread at the dentist's office. Dr. Fu Wong has been doing a lot of this lately and he will be the first to tell you that work has been a grind, literally.
"It just happening a lot more it seems like from last year to this year so far, that I can remember for last 18 years that I have been a dentist," said Wong.
Wong is talking about cases of teeth clenching and grinding caused by stress. He said they are up 40 percent compared to last year. It is something Kristina Heintz is all too familiar with.
"I think it really comes down to being a worrier. And that just comes out at night," said Heintz.
A few years ago Heintz started getting bad headaches during the day. After a dentist appointment it was discovered that she was clenching her teeth at night, subconsciously relieving stress, but doing damage to her teeth.
When clenching gets bad enough it can lead to the ever-dreaded root canal, which is what Heintz had two weeks ago. On Thursday, she got a temporary crown to fix a beat-up tooth.
When she started getting headaches Wong fitted Heintz with a mouthguard to wear at night, and that has helped greatly.
"My teeth felt a lot better afterwards," said Heintz.
But others haven't been so lucky. Wong said an attorney wore his front teeth down to the point that they looked like baby teeth.
"And the patient is actually in his 40s," said Wong.
In an extreme case, like this, no teeth are safe, but Wong said back molars are the most vulnerable. His advice is to get it checked out early.
"You look at the X-ray and there is no cavity, no filling, but boy, it was split," said Wong. "The worst scenario is that it's split in the middle and then you end up with an extraction."
Wong said worry over the economy is the reason he has seen more cases of teeth clenching lately. He recommends patients get a fitted mouthguard from a dentist rather than buying one at the store, because he said a fitted mouthguard is better for your jaw.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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