Worn teeth, partner hears it
Nocturnal grinding
Grinding during sleep, usually unrecognised until a dentist points at the enamel. A guard protects the teeth, and a prescriber can assess the masseter.
Body and medical concerns · London
Teeth Grinding and Jaw Clenching
You wake with an aching jaw and a dull headache, or your dentist points out worn enamel. A night guard protects your teeth, and a prescriber at Wimpole Street assesses whether treating the masseter suits you and how the two can work together.
At a glance
- Signs Jaw ache, morning headaches, worn teeth, clicking
- Treatment Masseter injection
- Results 2 to 6 weeks
- Lasts 4 to 6 months
- Available at Wimpole Street, London
Price from
From £450
What it is and why it happens
Most people who grind their teeth do not know they do. It happens in sleep, and the evidence arrives second-hand: a partner who hears it, a dentist who points at worn enamel, or a jaw that aches every morning for no reason you can identify.
Daytime clenching is different and usually conscious once pointed out. People clench at desks, in traffic and during concentration, and it is strongly associated with stress.
The consequences are the same either way. Worn and cracked teeth, jaw pain and tenderness, clicking, headaches worst on waking, and over time a squarer lower face as the masseter muscle builds like any muscle that is worked constantly.
A night guard protects the teeth from the damage, which matters. The clenching and the force behind it carry on, which is why a prescriber may discuss treating the muscle at consultation.
Regents Park Aesthetics treats the muscle at the Wimpole Street clinic, in the Harley Street medical district, after assessment by a prescriber. It works alongside a guard, and your clinician explains what to expect.
Know your type
Which type is yours?
Jaw ache by afternoon, desk-related
Daytime clenching
Usually conscious once pointed out, and strongly stress-associated. Awareness and habit reversal genuinely help alongside treatment, more than they do for nocturnal grinding.
Squarer lower face, bulging when you clench
Masseter hypertrophy
Where years of clenching have built the muscle, changing the shape of the lower face. Treatment reduces the bulk gradually across two or three cycles, which many patients love and some would rather keep subtle, so the plan is made around you.
Clicking, locking, pain opening wide
Jaw joint pain
Where the joint itself is involved rather than only the muscle. Here a dentist with an interest in the jaw joint or a maxillofacial specialist leads, and treating the muscle can help alongside.
How we assess and treat
Assessment at Regents Park Aesthetics covers when the pain is worst, what your dentist has said about tooth wear, whether you already wear a guard, and whether the jaw clicks or locks.
That last question shapes the plan. Where the joint itself is involved as well as the muscle, your clinician refers you to a dentist with an interest in the jaw joint or a maxillofacial specialist, and muscle treatment can work alongside.
We also check mid-face volume before treating, which patients often find surprising. The masseter helps support the lower face, so where a face has lost some volume your clinician plans the treatment, and any volume support, to keep the jawline looking its best.
And we ask whether you want the slimming effect. Repeated treatment reduces masseter bulk and changes the shape of the lower face. Many patients love it, some would rather keep their shape, and the plan is made around you.
Your options
Which treatment for your type of clenching?
As a guide, this is how we typically match each type to a treatment. Your own plan is always confirmed at consultation, and where a specialist doctor would serve you best, your clinician points you to the right one.
Type
Recommended treatment
Why
Daytime clenching
Helps the habit, alongside the stress work that actually drives it
Masseter hypertrophy
The muscle softens over a course, which narrows the lower face
Jaw joint pain
Assessed alongside your dentist, with the muscle treated where suitable
Decision aid
Compared side by side
Masseter injection
Night guard
Habit reversal
Jaw physiotherapy
Protects teeth
Indirectly
Yes, directly
Somewhat
No
Reduces force
Yes
No
Daytime only
Somewhat
Helps jaw ache
Yes
Sometimes
Daytime only
Yes
Slims jawline
Yes, over time
No
No
No
Price from
£450
Via dentist
Free
Varies
Can you treat it at home?
A night guard from your dentist is the first thing, and essential if your teeth are showing wear. It protects the enamel while everything else is addressed.
For daytime clenching, awareness genuinely works. Most people clench without knowing, and a simple check through the day, teeth apart, tongue resting on the roof of the mouth, lips together, retrains it over weeks. Phone reminders help more than they sound like they would.
Stress management really matters here. Bruxism is strongly stress-associated and periods of pressure produce measurable increases in it.
Caffeine and alcohol both worsen nocturnal grinding, alcohol particularly, because it disrupts sleep architecture.
Jaw stretches and warm compresses ease muscle soreness without reducing the clenching.
A nocturnal clench happens while you sleep, which is why a prescriber may discuss treating the muscle.
Questions, answered
Frequently Asked Questions
It is not fully settled. Stress and anxiety are strongly associated, as are sleep, alcohol and caffeine. It frequently runs in families.
It protects the teeth from the damage, which matters. The force behind the clench carries on, which is why a guard is often discussed alongside muscle treatment at consultation.
It reduces how forcefully the masseter can contract. The clenching behaviour continues, and your clinician explains what to expect at consultation.
Yes. Normal chewing uses a fraction of the force the masseter can generate. Very tough foods may feel like more work for a few weeks.
£450, including a two week review.
Typically four to six months, longer than cosmetic treatment because the muscle is large.
With repeated treatment, yes, as the muscle reduces in bulk over two or three cycles. Some patients love that and some would rather keep their shape, so the plan is made around you.
Your clinician checks mid-face volume before treating, because the masseter helps support the lower face, and the plan is built to keep your jawline looking its best.
Changes build over two to six weeks, and your clinician explains what to expect at your review.
Yes. A guard protects the teeth and a dentist can assess the wear. The two approaches work together.
That suggests the joint itself is involved as well as the muscle, and your clinician refers you to a dentist with an interest in the jaw joint or a maxillofacial specialist.
Regents Park Aesthetics
Feel like yourself, on a good day.
A medically led clinic where every plan starts with an assessment and every injectable is placed by a medical professional, so the result looks like you on your best day.
Address19 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8GE
Telephone020 7580 4813