Gritting of teeth/ShutterStock
War can bring after it heart-warming phenomena like "baby-boom", but as a people studying wars, we already know that it can also bring difficulties and problems even for those who are not physically harmed.
One of the most prominent phenomena is an increase in the level of anxiety, and unfortunately life in the State of Israel provides plenty of reasons for anxiety and mental stress.
Like emotional eating or sleep disorders, one of the prominent symptoms of anxiety is "bruxism" - grinding or clenching of teeth while asleep or awake.
This is often done unconsciously and makes treatment difficult.
Over time and depending on the intensity of the grinding, serious damage can be caused to the teeth, from cracks to the loss of real teeth.
Most likely an anxious person does not need, and perhaps cannot even contain and deal with such suffering.
Since the outbreak of the war, we have experienced an unprecedented wave of requests to our network clinics all over the country due to pain and damage as a result of clenching and grinding of teeth, and when we remember the corona that hit us, we can already say that we have not known such dimensions to the phenomenon.
Recently, as if by order, a new treatment has entered the treatment basket that offers a solution to this problem - an injection of botulinum toxin (Botox) into the chewing muscles.
Also good for squeakers at night
This is a very safe and very smart treatment in its simplicity - the dentist injects a small amount of Botox into the chewing muscles, and the substance prevents muscle activity in the intended area, and thus the patient actually stops grinding his teeth.
So far, the most prominent way to treat bruxism has been through a night brace that is put on the teeth while sleeping.
The problem with the old treatment is that the night brace only responded to those who suffered from bruxism in their sleep and not to those who examine their teeth awake (about 20% of the patients), and it also required the patients to make a commitment that at least half of them did not meet - continuous use of the brace every night.
Botox, on the other hand, offers a solution for both squeaks during the day and tightening at night.
What is important to know about the new treatment?
The material has been approved for this use by the American FDA and the Israeli Ministry of Health and is performed in dental clinics by qualified dentists.
The treatment itself only takes a few minutes.
The effect of the substance lasts for several months, so the treatment must be repeated every 3-6 months, with an increasing gap between the injections as time passes.
Sometimes the treatment may have transient and reversible side effects which include: slight pain in the injection area that passes in a short time, local hemorrhages (in the form of a small blue spot) in the injection area that passes within a few days, and in rarer cases - a feeling of decreased chewing power and very rarely - may to create a slight drop in the smile line.
As mentioned, all the symptoms are reversible.
So whether it's the security situation, or the financial situation or for whatever reason you are dealing with teeth grinding, know that you now have a way to treat the situation and prevent physical damage and maybe beyond that.
Quiet days for all of us.
Dr. Sheli Modai is the medical director of the northern region of the "Kallit Smile" network of clinics
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