Grinding your teeth (aka bruxism) can be a big problem—pain in the jaw, headaches and the fact that you’re pretty much slowly destroying your smile by wearing down and even chipping your teeth aren’t great selling points. What’s more, according to Atlanta cosmetic dentist Ronald Goldstein, DDS, most people don’t even know they’re doing it, and he estimates that 85 percent of the population clench their teeth at some time, both during sleeping hours and while they’re awake.
It’s a bad habit for sure, but a recent study (funded by Allergan, maker of onabotulinum toxin-A) reports that Botox Cosmetic may help you break it.
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As published in Neurology, a study of 22 people found that “those who received shots of onabotulinum toxin-A were more likely to improve on assessments of their teeth grinding and clenching symptoms than people who received a placebo injection.”
“This is a very common problem with no established treatment, so these results are encouraging,” said study author William G. Ondo, MD of Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “A larger study is needed to confirm these exciting results.”
