Veterans,
by dint of the often harsh military careers that many of
them experience, can face a whole lot of health related
disabilities. A lot of the veteran’s issues are slightly
different from the regular old age disabilities. Often
their peculiar conditions involve innumerable trips to
the physician and further examinations and verifications
thereafter. Veteran disabilities from teeth grinding is
often not a very straight forward cases since it
involves symptoms that are not clearly indicative of a
damaging dental condition.
Veterans
with teeth grinding
disabilities
One of the
major causes of teeth grinding is closely related to the
existence of stress and anxiety and its consequences on
an individual’s life. A lot of Veterans are required to
spend a major part of their lives in the military and
under combat circumstances. Many of the veterans often
end up leading very traumatic lives after retirement.
This fact is not always appreciated as much as it should
be, by those who do not have the insight into the
military conditions that soldiers have to live in.
Stress and
its relation to teeth grinding
The
stressful conditions that veterans undergo cause some
unique health issues for them. For example, Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of the common
conditions that veterans undergo. Although the PTSD as a
condition is acknowledged, the connection that this
condition can have to other health issues is often lost
on many and quite literally difficult to
establish.
Stress and
anxiety are one of the most common of the many
established factors of teeth grinding and veterans are
especially prone to teeth grinding. Several Vietnam
veterans have been known to go through the oral
condition of teeth grinding as a direct consequence of
the traumatic period of their lives that often leave
deep scars and bring forth many ramifications and health
issues that are rooted in and related to the trauma and
associated stress factors.
The wear
and tear resulting from teeth grinding is different in
nature from other dental issues. One needs to visit a
dentist who specializes in cases of Bruxism, in order to
clearly establish the linkages of stress to the teeth
grinding issue. Veterans disabilities and teeth grinding
therefore present a typical case in point for treatment
of teeth grinding using multi disciplinary methods of
damage control devices (such as night guards or splints)
and undertaking holistic measures of treating teeth
grinding through relaxation techniques, correct
exercises and other life style habits.
