Teeth grinding or bruxism is a medical condition in which a person is unaware that he or she is already clenching or grinding his or her teeth during the day or even during his or her sleep. Teeth grinding or bruxism occurring during sleep is given the term “sleep bruxism”. There are no definite causes for bruxism or teeth grinding. However, it is believed that teeth grinding can be greatly associated with psychosocial factors, specifically stress. Bruxism is more common in children and most children with teeth grinding problems can outgrow from it. However, there are some children who can’t outgrow their teeth grinding problem and suffer it until they are adults.

Relaxation Exercise for Teeth Grinding

Symptoms of bruxism are usually reduced by performing some relaxation exercises and/or even practicing proper positioning of the upper and lower teeth. Here are some techniques on how to perform relaxation exercise that can help in reducing symptoms of teeth grinding or bruxism:

1. Slightly separate both your upper and lower lip.
2. Once lips are slightly separated, comfortably relax your jaw.
3. Place or slightly press your tongue on your hard palate (roof of the mouth).
4. Hold this position as long as comfortably possible.

By doing such, it can promote relaxation to the jaw and it can even encourage proper jaw and mouth positioning. For people who are suffering from severe teeth grinding or bruxism, they will usually find this type of relaxation exercise to be difficult and challenging. If you find it difficult to do this type of relaxation technique, you can start by placing your finger in between your teeth and lips, until your jaw can relax.

Chin Pushes Exercise for Teeth Grinding

Chin pushes exercise will not help in relaxing the jaw, but it can really be helpful in bringing the jaw back to its proper alignment and it can also help in improving the jaw’s range of motion. Here is how to do chin pushes exercise for teeth grinding:

1. Place your thumb or any of your finger at the front portion of your chin.
2. Once your thumb or any of your finger is already in place at the front portion of your chin, gently push your chin forward.
3. After gently pushing your chin forward, slowly return your chin back to its original position.
4. If possible, repeat the chin push exercise for at least 10 more times.