Corona stress! More and more people are gritting their teeth

Tel Aviv - Increased stress is causing a new phenomenon for many people during the coronavirus pandemic : they are grinding their teeth and experiencing facial pain more frequently.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University's dental school and the University of Wroclaw in Poland surveyed a sample of 1,800 Israelis and Poles about stress-related symptoms and their possible severity during the first coronavirus lockdown in spring.

Specifically, the scientists wanted to know whether people grind their teeth and jaws more and whether they have facial pain .

And indeed: the test subjects ground their jaws significantly more often during the day and also had more facial pain, while they ground their teeth more often at night.

According to the study, the frequency of these complaints increased from 35% before the coronavirus pandemic to 47% during the pandemic.

Jaw grinding alone during the day rose from 17 percent in normal times to 32 percent during the lockdown, and teeth grinding at night from ten to 36 percent, reports theTimes of Israel.

Clearly factors of stress and anxiety! Both habits are known to be strongly influenced by emotional factors such as stress and anxiety and can cause serious damage to the teeth and jaw joints.

The feeling of being under pressure or feeling pressured - including having to home-school the children and run the household on the side - leads to this huge increase in complaints.

Participants aged 35 to 55 - and women - were most affected. In addition, people who had already shown these symptoms in the past experienced an average increase in intensity of 15 percent. The symptoms were present in participants in both Israel and Poland.

"We believe that our results reflect the stress experienced by middle-aged people who have young children but do not have the typical help of grandparents who also worry about their elderly parents, have financial problems and often have to work from home under more difficult conditions," explain the authors of the study, which was published in theJournal of Clinical Medicine.

They continue: "We have talked a lot about the toll the pandemic is taking on people. Our research provides some evidence that physical reactions are signs that the population is more depressed and anxious," dentist Prof. Ilana Eli, who was involved in the study, told The Times of Israel.

The scientific team had expected an increase in symptoms, but not to this extent. Even though the results relate to the first lockdown, Eli believes that the increase in anxiety habits has continued. She recommends the use of bite protection and relaxation techniques.