I first made anxiety’s acquaintance during lockdown, but in hindsight she’d always been there, lying dormant in the dark without a name. Like the time I experienced my first heartbreak as a teenager and forgot how to sleep for the best part of a year. Or when my GCSEs loomed, and the thought of not nailing every single subject had me reciting bullet points about plant osmosis into the early hours, heart hammering in my chest as the sun illuminated my bedroom wall. But when this insomnia-prone, overthinking teenager became a woman, and gained responsibilities far more pressing than labelling plant anatomy, anxiety cleared her throat and made her grand entrance. Throw lockdown into a messy mix of two young children and a demanding new work role, and my central nervous system pulled the panic chord.
Jaws of steel
I’m lucky enough to describe my anxiety levels as mild these days – I’ve never been medicated (just done a course of CBT) – but I’m always aware of my over-eager fight-or-flight response waiting in the wings to step out on stage whenever life throws me a curve ball. One symptom, however, didn’t get the memo and decamp post-therapy: teeth clenching, or, as it’s medically known, bruxism. For years I’ve tried relaxation techniques (walking, yoga and sea swimming included) and ritually massaged my overactive masseter muscle for relief, but the throbbing sensation has followed me. I also gained an ever-widening lower face thanks to my daily jaw workout, not to mention the future dental issues I began racking up. “With chronic clenching and bruxism, tooth enamel will wear down much quicker and can expose the tooth’s inner dentine over time,” confirms founder and principal dentist at Luceo Dental, Dr Tom. “Clenching will also cause micro-cracks in the teeth, putting them at greater risk of chipping and breaking, and potentially needing fillings to stop bacteria from harbouring inside the cracks. Over time, the extra biting force will also damage fillings, crowns, veneers and bonding, meaning they will need to be replaced more frequently.”
Botox for bruxism
Realising the long-term fallout of owning two masseter muscles that would fit in nicely at a Venice Beach gym, I turned to masseter Botox, which uses Botulinum Toxin-A to block the signals that tell a muscle to contract (just as it does when it’s deployed to reduce the formation of wrinkles). “I have a lot of patients who hold tension either in the masseter muscle, or the trapezius muscle, which is the sloping muscle between your neck and shoulder,” explains GP and aesthetician, Dr Ahmed El Muntasar. “I would say nine out of 10 people who come to me have the procedure to relieve painful clenching, but the face slimming that accompanies it is often considered an added benefit.”
The treatment was quick and painless (a few sharp scratches), and within a week, the throbbing pain I’d become so accustomed to was gone. A few weeks after that, my jaw had visibly slimmed, the bulk of tender muscle I once ground my knuckles into for release loosened. But, to my surprise, the effects weren’t just physical. My mind seemed calmer, and it dawned on me that there had been an unconscious connection between my clenching and stress levels. After a day of habitual clenching due to work deadlines or run-of-the-mill parenting challenges, my throbbing jaw was sending a signal to my brain, informing it that I was spiralling (even if I wasn’t). Subconsciously, I fed off that signal and worried about worrying (something people with anxiety are prone to) and so the cycle continued.
A psychologist weighs in
“From an evolutionary perspective, our brains have developed sophisticated mechanisms, such as the fight-flight-freeze response, to ensure survival in the face of perceived threats,” confirms chartered psychologist Dr Louise Goddard-Crawley. “This survival mechanism involves a cyclical interplay between physical sensations and emotional states, creating a loop that has likely been honed over generations for survival.” Goddard-Crawley goes on to explain that even if the stressor that once triggered jaw clenching as a coping mechanism has dissipated (in my case, lockdown), the habit may persist. “Breaking this cycle is pivotal,” she adds, “it’s key to penetrate the mind’s response mechanisms and interrupt the ingrained patterns that happen as a result of evolutionary survival instincts.”
Goddard-Crawley stresses the importance of addressing the root cause of any mental health condition. “By counteracting only a symptom of anxiety without addressing its original source, there’s a chance that the anxiety or related symptoms could reappear, either in a physical manifestation or psychological form,” she explains. “Understanding the bidirectional relationship between the two is crucial in developing holistic approaches to health and wellbeing. Interventions that target either the body or the mind can have cascading effects across the entire system. This holistic perspective is often emphasised in therapeutic approaches, lifestyle interventions, and mind-body practices that aim to optimise both mental and physical health.”
Beyond bruxism…
As Goddard-Crawley rightly stresses, no prick of a needle can make anxiety, or any other mental health condition, vamoose. But small ripples can trigger a tidal wave of improvement over time. If I ever sense my anxiety is preparing to rear its head, I’ll be placing a call to my GP, but I can’t stress enough the near-instant benefits I experienced from “penetrating my mind’s response mechanism”, as Goddard-Crawley describes it, with my six-monthly masseter Botox appointments (alongside scheduled work breaks and weekly yoga, I must add).
As with any procedure, research your aesthetician beforehand; read reviews, request their portfolio, ask questions, and check they’re registered with a licence to practice on the General Medical Council, Nursing & Midwifery Council or General Dental Council websites. The cost varies from practitioner to practitioner but expect to pay upwards of £200 for 4-8 injections with an experienced injector. Dr Ahmed charges £350 in his London clinic, usually for 4-6 injections.