I went to the dentist recently for my bi-annual check up. I have been having sensitivity to cold on the teeth on the left side of my mouth, so I mentioned that when they asked if I'd been having any problems. The dental hygienist said my teeth looked great, but my dentist said that the sensitivity was probably caused by grinding my teeth. I was pretty sure I didn't grind my teeth, but I had noticed that I had these pinholes in the tops of my molars, and I was thinking that I had tons of cavities (panic!). Instead, my dentist told me that the pinholes were probably caused by clenching my jaw or teeth while I was sleeping, and this is what was contributing to the sensitivity in my teeth.
So, over the past month, I have been paying close attention to the amount of time during the day that I spend clenching or holding my jaw/teeth. It's been an amazing revelation! Or rather, maybe a sad revelation...I clench my jaw ALL THE TIME. I had no idea. How is it possible to do something all the time and have no insight into your behavior? That's a revelation. Awareness. Acceptance. Action.
Awareness:
Dentist: Do you clench your jaw?
Me: Well, that's certainly a possibility.
Then, I start to notice that I clench my jaw during the day when I'm stressed or anxious and at night when I'm sleeping. Woah.
Acceptance:
I clench my jaw all the time. Okay, clearly I need to find another way to handle the tension that I am now keeping in my clenched jaw.
Action:
Relax. Move my mouth and jaw around at random times just to see how tense it is. Check in with my jaw. Tell it to relax.
Okay, now what? Where does all that tension from clenching my teeth go? I have a feeling that it goes into my body somewhere else or possibly comes out as an emotion that I don't want to face right now (like sadness).
What I have realized, through yoga, book reading, and many other avenues in my life, is that we hold our pain/frustration/worry/hurt/sadness (etc.) in our body somewhere. If we do not resolve or work through these difficult feelings/emotions/situations, the body becomes sick (headache, hives, sinus infection, even cancer). Working through difficulties in our lives can be overwhelming and seem impossible at times. Sometimes I hate it. I hate feeling my feelings. But I guess what I am learning is that it's better to figure these things out now. I'd rather work on not clenching my jaw and figuring how a better way to handle my stress and anxiety than have to replace my teeth with dentures at age 40.
Awareness. Acceptance. Action.
1 comment:
Unlikely you'll need dentures in 10 years ;) Glad you figured it out! Clenching also leads to headaches, shoulder tension, facial tension, arm tension...generally everywhere, so if you can relax your jaw, your entire body will benefit. Try keeping your lips and teeth apart- it is difficult to hold jaw tension in that position;)
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