Bruxism’s Link to Social Anxiety

The dental community has understood for a long time that stress is a big contributing factor to bruxism, or tooth grinding. If you struggle with social anxiety, you may be at particular risk. This is according to a study conducted by Tel Aviv University, which has demonstrated that interacting with other people can serve as a trigger for tooth grinding if you have social anxiety.

The study examined a group of seventy-five people, representing a mix of men and women in their early thirties. Forty of these people struggled with social phobia, roughly half of these taking medication to treat the condition. The other thirty-five participants did not exhibit any social phobia. After an examination of both their oral health and psychiatry, the researchers found that 42.1% of those with social phobia exhibited moderate-to-severe wear on their teeth as a result from bruxism. This is opposed to the 28.6% exhibited by those without social phobia. Meanwhile, symptoms of waking bruxism were observed in 42.5% of the first group, compared to the mere 3% of the control group.

If you experience social anxiety, it pays to take measures to foster relaxation and avoid bruxism. This, combined with regular visits to our International District dentist, will help to assure the continued health of your teeth.