Women Who Empower
What does my dental health have Ani Papazyan Guest Columnist
to do with the pain in my neck?
Did you know that since the pandemic started dentists have seen a rise in jaw clenching & grinding? This is a very common habit with about 45% of dental patients clenching their jaws while they sleep. Out of this group, 22% more women clench their jaws than men. There are a few main reasons that this affects more women than men. Some of the triggers for this condition are stress and anxiety or lack of sleep. In addition, women experience this problem as a result of hormonal changes. The consequences of this are not only excessive wear on your teeth and dental work but a list of other secondary symptoms. Okay, so what about your neck pain?
Probably, the number one secondary symptom related to these dental habits is neck and shoulder pain. You might also experience headaches, earaches, and the obvious one, jaw pain. According to an article in, The National Library of Medicine, Scientific research has shown that due to hormonal fluctuations women are more likely to experience teeth grinding and clenching when they are premenstrual or postmenstrual. The hormones estrogen and progesterone have been found to be associated with both habits along with the symptoms that we are all more familiar with, irritability and mood swings. page | 06
