Sunday Rest: bruxism. Word Not To Use Today.

Are you guilty of bruxism? Are you a bruxist?

No?

I think you are, you know. Sometimes.


Illustration by Henry Gray

Perhaps you're a bruxist at night, or perhaps when overwhelmed by some savage passion, or while suffering from stress or anxiety.

Does your partner complain of an unsettling ticking noise at night? Or of a grinding, as of some slightly rusty robot heaving itself into action?

It may be your bruxing that's causing it.

Right, then. Have I chilled your blood? 

If I have, the word bruxism will probably have helped. It sounds far too much like some penchant for systematic brutality.

And what is it?

Grinding the teeth. That's all. Just grinding the teeth.

Bruxism can cause tooth problems and aches in the jaw, head and muscles, but it's nothing to do with violence.

Unless you're trying to sleep beside the person who keeps on doing it, natch.

Sunday Rest: bruxism. It's not nearly as bad as it sounds. The word comes from the Greek brykein to bite or gnash.