GRINDING GRINDING TO A HALT Breaking the habit can spare teeth from damage R

By KATHRYN MOLINARO

OGER SUTHERLAND didn't know what was wrong. He woke up every morning with a headache, sore jaw muscles and a constant earache that threw off his balance.

Thinking he had an ear infection, Sutherland, the assistant fire chief for Stafford County, visited a doctor who told him to see a dentist. Skeptical, Sutherland followed the order and found out he had been grinding and clenching his teeth so much that he had developed temporomandibular joint disorder.

The disorder, known as TMJ, is named for the joints in front of the ears that connect the jaw to the skull.

"I would grind almost 24 hours a day," Sutherland said. "It's not the normal, average grinding your teeth when you go to sleep. It's chronic pain every single day."

An estimated 20 percent of American adults grind or clench their teeth, though it's hard to know for sure because most people grind in their sleep.

According to the Mayo Clinic Web site, 30 percent of children grind their teeth. Many children outgrow the habit once they get their permanent teeth, so it is rarely a cause for concern.

But for adults, it can lead to all sorts of problems--headaches, neck and shoulder pain, teeth sensitivity and the erosion of tooth enamel. Without treatment, it can become a serious and expensive problem to fix.

The earlier grinding and clenching is detected, the easier it is to prevent complications.

Long before the spasms in his jaw and neck began, Sutherland said, his doctor told him he was grinding his teeth at night.

"But of course I wasn't symptomatic, so I just thought he was kind of nutty," Sutherland said.

Grinding teeth down

Also called bruxism, grinding and clenching are often caused by stress. Other causes of grinding include a misaligned top and bottom bite.

Sutherland thinks it was a combination of factors for him.

He said that although he had braces when he was younger, his jaws were misaligned. He was also under a lot of job stress when his jaw problems got bad about 12 years ago.

"I would grind a lot at work because at the time I was doing a lot of work behind the computer," Sutherland said.

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TEETH-GRINDING BASICS:

An estimated 20 percent of American adults clench or grind their teeth at night, a habit that can lead to serious jaw and teeth problems.

"It's one of the most destructive habits or forces that is put on the teeth," said Dr. Lloyd F. Moss Jr., a local dentist.

Dentists can detect grinding problems during routine checkups. Symptoms include sore jaw muscles, a dull headache or earache in the morning, neck and shoulder pain and teeth sensitivity.

For more information, visit the Mayo Clinic Web page on grinding, at mayoclinic.com/health/bruxism/ DS00337. Or see the American Dental Association's site at ada.org/public/topics/grinding.asp.

BY THE NUMBERS:

25: Percentage of a tooth that may remain after years of being ground down

45: Number of pounds of pressure put on teeth, per square inch, while eating

450: Number of pounds of pressure put on teeth, per square inch, when grinding.

Date published: 12/3/2006

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