Bruxism Makes Life a Grind  Prolonged grinding or clenching of
the jaw can cause facial soreness, headaches, neck pain and
serious damage to the gums, bones and teeth.  Jessica Yadegaran
McClatchy/Tribune News  February 15, 2010   You can practically
track Steve Barkley's stress by the level of activity in his
temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, the hinge joint that connects
the lower jaw to the temporal bone of the skull and helps people
chew, talk and yawn.  Although he didn't know it at the time,
the Walnut Creek, Calif., comedian began grinding his teeth at
night during the dot-com bust of 2000, when his Silicon Valley
gigs disappeared and he was down $12,000. That's when the
horrendous morning headaches started, he says.  A year later,
the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 cost him $6,000 more in jobs.
At a routine appointment, his dentist took one look inside
Barkley's mouth and knew the culprit of the headaches. "He said,
'You're grinding your teeth like crazy,' " recalls Barkley, 57.
But the ultimate "nail