The news item has been everywhere....dentists are seeing an increase in severe bruxing caused by the stress of the down economy. A Dubuque Iowa dentist is no excpetion.
"When I began practicing dentistry in the mid-1970s," said Dr. William Kuttler, "the vast majority of people with teeth-grinding injuries were men who lived on farms. They would be riding around on a tractor all day, with grit getting in their mouth and clenching their teeth. Now, the farmers are riding in air-conditioned cabs and the bruxers coming in with jaw problems are Type-A business people."
Dr Kuttler and his wife (and hygienist) Sharon, have teamed up with Sharon's yoga instructor to offer a seminar on on relieving dental stress. They'll use the breathing, alignment, and body awareness components of yoga to reduce or eliminate grinding behavior and its consequent problems.
I'll be asking them how it went after the seminar. Stay tuned.
