Can You Use Essential Oils for Teeth Grinding

As a teeth grinder searching for natural ways to stop the behavior, you may have seen articles mention essential oils as a suggestion. These oils, made from plant extracts, promise everything from better sleep to less pain.

In fact, herbalists recommend them for so many things, they almost seem too good to be true! 

So can they really help you stop your grinding behavior?

Well, yes and no. They can’t stop the grinding itself, but if your behavior is stress-related, they can help soothe your mind and body. 

Hopefully, a simple addition of essential oil to your sleep routine may be all you need for your jaw muscles to relax and stop clenching and grinding. 

Let’s explore how you can use essential oils for teeth grinding. 

The Science Behind Essential Oils

Essential oils do have specific properties that make them both medicinal and therapeutic. After all, plant medicine has been around for thousands of years. 

Oils we buy online and in shops use the exact properties our ancestors across the globe relied on. But thanks to more contemporary research, we understand their potency better these days.

It may surprise you to know that specific plant extracts have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal benefits. And many of them even have properties that naturally lower your heart rate and blood pressure. 

Your body feels calmer despite what you may be going through externally by simply inhaling specific essential oils.

Ready to see if these magical oils can lower your adrenaline levels and stop your tension-related teeth grinding? 

These essential ingredients have science-backed properties that link them to reduced stress.

Lavender

Lavender as a color is relaxing and peaceful, so it’s no wonder that the actual benefits of the flower do the same thing!

Everything from candles to cleansers contains this fragrant essential oil, but the plant has medicinal benefits, too. For centuries, people have used lavender to help induce relaxation.

Benefits of Lavender on Stress 

Feeling a little more than the moody blues? When you stress out, lavender essential oils or an oral supplement may shake you out of the doldrums.

Studies show that lavender extract has anxiety-reducing benefits like:

• Lowering your stress levels by calming your heart rate and reducing adrenaline
• Improving your mood
• Regulating your breathing

How to Use Lavender

Lavender may be helpful for you if you wake up drowsy yet don’t believe you have a full-on sleep disorder.

Lack of sleep can also increase stress and make teeth grinding worse, which is really where lavender shines.

Use plugin lavender essential oils or spray your sheets with lavender mist before bedtime, and you’ll enjoy a blissful night of stress-free rest, and hopefully, no teeth grinding!

Eucalyptus

If a parent covered you with Vicks VapoRub every time you sniffled as a child, you know the smell of eucalyptus!

It’s a healing oil originally from the Australian eucalyptus tree. Nowadays, the tree grows in most areas that have a warm, frost-free climate.

Stress-Related Benefits

Eucalyptus does everything from getting rid of bugs (mosquitoes-be-gone!) to clearing up chest congestion. 

People with joint pain use it topically as an anti-inflammatory. In fact, it's one of those natural remedies that seem to cover almost every physical problem there is.

But it also has some surprising benefits for people dealing with stress.

Certain symptoms of anxiety and stress cause the annoying teeth grinding you’re trying to get rid of. By using eucalyptus essential oils, your body absorbs eucalyptol. It’s an ingredient that has anti-anxiety components that lower your blood pressure and calm the nervous system.

Even better, eucalyptus oil increases the behavior of the parasympathetic nervous system. The more active this system is, the better relaxed you feel overall. Its anti-anxiety components make eucalyptus a wonderful option for stopping stress-related teeth grinding.

How to Use Eucalyptus 

Ready to see if eucalyptus oil can stop your grinding (and get rid of some stress, too)? Brew eucalyptus leaves for tea, use the essential oils in your diffuser, or hang the plant in your shower for a steamy spa experience. 

And, of course, if you’re aiming for the nostalgia of childhood, you can always use it topically. Mix some eucalyptus oil with coconut oil and rub it into your chest, under your neck, and at the pulse points on your wrist.

These are surefire measures to breathe yourself into a calmer state in no time!

Peppermint

Peppermint has a naturally calming effect on humankind, with one whiff of this minty herb instantly soothing our troubles away. 

However, chewing on a peppermint stick may not be great for your teeth grinding-related jaw pain! 

An aromatherapy peppermint essential oil, on the other hand, can be what you need to reduce your TMJ symptoms.

Benefits of Peppermint Oil

The effects of stress show up physically and mentally. Even how you carry your neck and shoulders is directly related to your stress level. 

And this behavior’s side effects are connected to things like sleep bruxism. While peppermint isn’t going to stop the grinding, just the smell of it is enough to enhance your mood and lower your stress.

The aroma of this mint has a variety of effects on your body, like:

• Boosting alertness
• Increasing memory retention
• Speeding up processing speeds
• Enhancing sleep quality
• Improving self-confidence

Like most people, you likely mull over a lot of your frustration, something that can often lead to a lack of sleep. Peppermint can help this problem. 

How to Use Peppermint Oil

You can add peppermint oil extract to humidifiers or diffusers and breathe it in as you sleep. You can also sip caffeine-free peppermint tea throughout the day for a relaxing and tasty drink.

With regular use of essential oils like this one, you’ll see a difference in your stress-related issues that manifest in grinding teeth.

Chamomile

Tea drinkers know the word chamomile. It’s an herb that’s widely popular as a hot beverage, and it has a variety of medicinal uses, too.

The herb’s medicinal properties date as far back for use during ancient Grecian and Roman times. Research shows that 26 countries have chamomile on the list of natural pharmaceuticals for medicinal treatments. 

One of the best uses for this herb? 

Stress!

Stress-Related Benefits

The science-backed results of many studies on stress, depression, and anxiety are conclusive. People exposed to chamomile had consistently improved moods over their control group counterparts.

Chamomile essential oils have an ingredient called apigenin. This compound works like a natural benzodiazepine, a medication in the antidepressants category. 

If anxiety and depression are what cause your bruxism, chamomile may be a possible cure!

How to Use Chamomile

Instead of getting addicted to controlled prescription medication, why not swap to chamomile? After checking in with your doctor, of course. 

Luckily, you can’t have too much chamomile! Drink it as tea, eat the fresh blooms on your salad, or inhale the extract with aromatherapy.

Juniper Berry

A lesser-known essential oil that has stress reduction benefits is juniper berry. It’s an actual berry that is rarely used in cooking because it can be poisonous if eaten in abundance.

However, gin drinkers enjoy the floral taste of a juniper berry in every swallow. This classic cocktail favorite has juniper berry as its main ingredient. 

Disclaimer: You don’t have to drink gin to benefit from the stress-relieving properties of juniper berry! 

And incidentally, if you’re grinding your teeth at night or have sleep apnea, you should avoid alcohol, since it can worsen bruxism. 

Swap out the gin for essential oils and aromatherapy instead!

Benefits of Juniper Berries on Stress

Thousands of years ago, ancient Egyptians used juniper berry as a laxative, while Native Americans historically relied on it for infections and injuries.

Today, we use the berry as a pain reliever and bloat reducer, but it’s the anti-stress properties that really make it popular.

For the maximum mood benefits, essential oils in an aromatherapy diffuser work best. 

Inhaling the berry gives you:

• Antioxidants that reduce stress at a cellular level
• Improved sleep
• Enhanced alertness
• Boosted brain functioning
• Better overall wellness

How to Use Juniper Berry Oil

It’s possible to use juniper berries in your diet sparingly, and they make a tasty addition to wild game and casseroles. 

But if you want the benefits without the worry of eating the berry, stick with the aromatic version. Add juniper berry essential oils to your diffusers or humidifiers. Thanks to its piney smell, it’s an especially delightful aroma during the holiday season!

Ylang Ylang

The mood-boosting properties of ylang ylang start with the name. Who can say it without feeling at least a little better?

The term refers to a yellow flower that grows on the Cananga tree. It only survives in tropical areas surrounding the Indian Ocean. The star-shaped flower is known for its fruity, rich aroma, making it popular with essential oil manufacturers.

Ylang ylang comes in varying ranges of potency. It’s part of many popular perfumes, lotions, and food colorings. Medicinally, the flower may be a natural  stress reducer.

Reducing Stress With Ylang Ylang

There are fewer studies about his flower than about more common essential oils like lavender. But small studies show that when ylang ylang is applied to the skin or inhaled, it lowers stress levels.

Smelling the flower has an immediate calming effect. Additionally, the scent reduces both systolic and diastolic blood pressure and lowers the heart rate. If your teeth grinding is the result of a more serious condition, like heart disease, you can add ylang ylang to your other healthful routines to reduce stress and stop the grinding.

How to Use Ylang Ylang Oil

Ylang ylang works well as an anxiety reducer, but it’s expensive since it’s less widely available. Blend it with a carrier oil and gently rub it into your skin or add a few drops to your pulse points.

Other Natural Methods to Stop Teeth Grinding

In addition to trying essential oils, there are other possible home remedies to stop bruxism. 

Natural Teeth Grinding Preventatives

What works for you isn’t always the same thing that helps someone else, and vice versa. You may have to try a few ideas before you find the right solution, but don’t give up! 

Here are some of the top suggestions of at-home methods to limit teeth grinding:

• Stress management through activities like yoga, meditation, art, and exercise.
• Natural muscle relaxants such as ashwagandha, curcumin, and valerian.
• Eat a diet rich in soothing foods, like turmeric, fatty fish, berries, leafy greens, and olive oil.
• Add supplements to your diet, like vitamins D, B, C, and magnesium.

Another simple way to reduce the damage from grinding is to order a custom-made mouth guard. It may not fix the problem, but it can relax your jaw and stop the symptoms from getting worse.

If you wake up with earaches, pain in your temporomandibular joint that makes your jaw sore, and headaches, wearing a custom-fit night guard may be the answer. It can help realign your jaw (if you have misaligned teeth) and protect your tooth enamel from further damage.

If a trip to the dentist is the only thing stopping you from getting a nightguard, don’t worry! It’s not necessary to leave the house to get your own specially designed oral appliance these days. 

You can order your custom fit night guard directly from JS Dental Lab. Submit your information, and you’ll receive an impression kit in the mail shortly. 

As soon as you send your impressions back, your very own custom-fit mouthguard will be shipped to you within a few days. 

Conclusion

We know it can seem like essential oils are the magical answer for everything. And when it comes to teeth grinding, the oils won’t stop the behavior. They can, however, help you with the underlying cause of your grinding.

Stress-related bruxism affects millions of people every year. The best essential oils can soothe your body, improve your sleep quality, and calm your mind.

With those three pieces falling into place, you may very well find that your bruxism symptoms become reduced or non-existent. 

So, are essential oils magic? You could become a believer!

If you have questions about this topic or about how our custom-made mouth guards can be a game-changer for your teeth grinding, reach out to us! We’re happy to provide you with more information and assist in any way.