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Psychology Of Bruxism: Can Teeth Grinding Simply Go Away On Its Own?
Hey guys, today I’d like to answer the question: can teeth grinding simply go away on its own?
Let’s first look at the perspective of kids. Actually, for kids, they do grind their teeth for a number of reasons. It might be because they’ve stopped sucking their thumb, managing their own stress without any other coping mechanism, or just learning it from someone. For kids, it may really go away because their teeth are growing and there are many reasons why kids may grind their teeth.
They may outgrow it, and that’s very okay. Sometimes, you don’t need to be so worried about your child grinding their teeth because they may outgrow it. You just have to provide them with a great environment, teach them ways to manage their stress, or just listen to them and be there for them.
Now, for adults, yes, it can go away, but let’s understand two aspects of “going away.” The first aspect is you may replace it with something else. Chronic grinding is mostly a way of coping with stress and anxiety. You may stop grinding your teeth but end up smoking, chewing your cheek, or picking up another harmful habit. This happens because the source of the stress driving the teeth grinding is still there. The stressor will look for something else, or your mind will look for something else to provide temporary relief from the stress. So, you may stop grinding but end up picking something else like smoking or chewing your cheek.
However, teeth grinding may go away if you can deal with the underlying issues fueling this behavior. This involves dealing with stress in your life, looking at what the grinding is really trying to tell you about the current state of your life.
You might realize that you’re stressed due to financial issues, relationship problems, or just a lot of stress in general. Grinding is your body trying to communicate to you, urging you to do something. The more it intensifies, the more it’s nudging you to take action.
By doing a compassionate investigation into what the grinding is trying to tell you, you’ll get to the underlying issues fueling this habit. Once you deal with those issues, the grinding will go away because your mind will no longer need to bring out this aspect of grinding your teeth as a stress response.
Instead of waiting for it to go away, take action to improve the quality of your life. Look at the things you’re trying to avoid — whether it’s fear, insecurity, or an unhealthy relationship — and take action to improve those areas. You may think that the solution requires medical intervention, but the real solution might be addressing the stress you’re undergoing. Isn’t that a better way to deal with it than paying for costly dental visits or surgeries that won’t take away the stress?
Always consider what your body is trying to communicate to you. Once you understand that, the quality of your life will improve, and you may avoid spending a lot of money on dental procedures. Look at what your mind is trying to communicate, and that