Growing numbers of people are suffering from eating problems, splitting headaches and severe oral pain because of an upsurge in teeth grinding which dentists are blaming on job insecurity, linked to the recession.
More patients need treatment because a piece has fallen off their tooth, or a molar or incisor has cracked completely and is beyond repair. Others suffer headaches or pain in their whole mouth .
Those badly affected often end up taking painkillers every day to relieve their symptoms, or even damaging their working life. "People who are worst affected by grinding are Type A personalities: ambitious people and perfectionists, who usually work in business," said Sharif Khan, a cosmetic and implant dental specialist.
Workers in the financial sector are among those most affected. Yann Maidment said he and his two colleagues at their dental practice in central Edinburgh had seen an increase of 10-20% in such patients over the past 18 months, especially those working for the city's banks, fund managers and financial services firms. "There's a lot of anxiety that redundancies may be coming, and about job losses that have already happened," said Maidment, a dentist of 25 years.
Those whose jobs involve frequent travelling are also more prone to it than others, said Maidment. "They have more stressors in their life," he said.
He is providing more and more patients with bite guards – thin plastic equivalents of the gumshields that rugby players use. They cost £250-£300, are worn at night and cover the surface of the teeth, stopping the constant contact. Most of those who grind do so for up to two hours per night, but in several shorter bursts.
A patient adviser at the British Dental Health Foundation's helpline said they had seen an increase in calls about the problem. "Stress is probably the major reason – people not being able to cope with things going on in their work or love life, or having money worries. These situations can create tension in people's bodies and that can manifest itself as teeth grinding."
Corrective exercises, relaxation therapy and counselling to address the underlying cause of the tension are among the helpline's suggested potential remedies.
The biggest study of sleep-related teeth grinding – or bruxism, as dentists call it – was conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration of global medical experts in 2008. It found that the problem can start at just one years old, when a child's deciduous incisors have emerged.