Stress and Jaw Pain
Many people who regularly experience stress report that jaw pain is their primary symptom of stress. The human body’s stress response helps us react and respond effectively to potentially harmful or difficult situations, but when stressful situations are recurring or ongoing, stress responses can manifest in different ways throughout the body. It’s common for people to unconsciously clench or grind their teeth when under stress, which increases the strain and burden faced by the joints that connect the jaws to the skull and the muscles that surround and support the jaw. This can lead to pain in the jaw and the muscles of the face and neck, pain in the teeth, and headaches or earaches. Stress management is the most effective way to reduce or even eliminate these uncomfortable symptoms. It can take some effort to effectively manage stress, but there are many different approaches that have proven successful.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques include noting the times of day or regular occurrences that tend to cause stress, first identifying these stressors before choosing how to address them. When possible, avoid stressful situations. Sometimes, stress arises when people simply have too much to do and feel as though they don’t have time to do it. Preparing ahead, setting achievable goals and managing priorities, and learning how to ask for help or say no to requests can help maintain balance and reduce day-to-day stress. If you’re in a situation where you can’t avoid a stressor, try to modify the way you respond to that stressor. Try to breathe, choosing to respond instead of simply reacting and creating some distance between the situation and the emotion it elicits. If something is out of your control and you do have an angry emotional reaction, try to let that feeling go. Acknowledge it as a valid feeling, and then let it move along, choosing to focus instead on things you can control and things that bring you gratitude.
Whenever possible, try to live a healthy lifestyle, with a regular sleep schedule and consistent activity; you don’t need to exercise vigorously, but try to get some movement, like walking, into your weekly schedule at least three times a week. Get fresh air when you can, drink plenty of water, and eat a nutritious diet to help support your body’s nervous system and keep you feeling good. If you face some unavoidable stresses, like a challenging career, try to balance this with relaxing activities that help you unwind. Some people prefer calm stress-reduction practices like yoga or silent meditation, while others find calm in more exhilarating activities like long-distance running; whatever helps you purposefully adjust your focus and think about something other than the stressor could be a good choice. Some health practitioners can also help manage stress. Physical therapists, massage therapists, and acupuncturists can use manual techniques and tools to decrease the body’s stress responses and increase a person’s overall sense of comfort and well-being, and mental health practitioners can address stress from a number of angles and offer a variety of treatment options. If you have TMJ disorder because of stress, talk to your dentist first. They can help determine the extent of your condition and discuss the various causes, and they can refer you to appropriate health practitioners to thoroughly and holistically address your stress-induced jaw pain.
Don't avoid addressing jaw pain caused by a TMJ disorder, as it can lead to a damaged tooth that can eventually require extraction.