Health

Credit Crunch takes toll on teeth

by LotusFlower | October 13, 2008 at 11:45 am

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As the stock market causes worries so it also causes problems with the teeth and jaws as part of the credit crunch blues people grind their teeth in their sleep without realising.

Do you wake up with a headache, sore teeth or a sore jaw? Millions of people clench and grind their teeth without realizing it, particularly while they're sleeping. Both habits can escalate into serious pain and problems of the temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, which joins the jaw to the skull. And they are far more common at times of stress.

"TMJ and Wall Street go hand in hand, especially lately," says Anthony Chillura, a longtime dentist in New York City's financial district. "Some people get ulcers. Some people get high blood pressure. Some manifest their stress dentally."

While most people clench or grind their teeth (a condition known as bruxism) from time to time, about 10 percent suffer from TMJ problems - and those can set in suddenly. TMJ disorder can mimic migraine headaches, earaches, sinus infections and tooth abscesses. It can cause dizziness, ringing in the ears and muscle pain that radiates down the neck and shoulders.