Kunitachi Ozawa Acupuncture Clinic.

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Case Reports

症例報告
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clenching teeth too hard

main symptom

for several years, she has been grinding and clenching her teeth very hard.
she has been to several dentists. it was so bad that her teeth would be shaved, and her family would ask her if she was okay when she was sleeping.

recently, she has been gritting her teeth while working during the day. she has been using a mouthpiece to protect her teeth, but it doesn't help with the clenching and grinding. so, after consultation with the dentist, she came to our clinic by referral.

visual observation and palpation

there is no difference between the left and right side of the teeth.
however, the masseter muscle appeared to be raised.
on palpation, the tension of the masseter muscle was found to be uncommonly strong.

treatment

she was treated on her back, concentrating on the masseter muscle, temporalis muscle, and medial and lateral pterygoid muscles.

1st to 3rd treatment: teeth grinding, and clenching did not completely improve, but there was a sense that the acupuncture needles were clearly hitting the bad areas. 10 to 9

4th to 6th treatment: the clenching and grinding began to decrease at work. 10 to 5

7th to 10th treatment: he frequency of clenching was clearly reduced. 5 to 2

11th to present: when work gets busy, clenching is felt, but it is almost improved.

since it is a masticatory muscle that is used every day, she wants to take care of it on a regular basis...so she is continuing her treatment.

Summary

teeth grinding and clenching → mouthpiece?

this patient had a history of clenching and grinding for several years and had stopped using a mouthpiece that had been destroyed in the process.

the masseter muscle was several times more tense than normal, and the muscle belly was raised. to begin with, when you go to the dentist for teeth grinding or clenching, they prescribe a mouthpiece.

if the purpose is to protect the teeth, a mouthpiece is an appropriate prescription, but if the main complaint is teeth grinding or clenching, it will create an environment that causes clenching.

it is important to prescribe a mouthpiece and treat the trigger points in the masseter muscles that are the source of the clenching and grinding.

a real dental-acupuncture collaboration. thanks for the referral.
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