Commonly used antidepressant medications—including Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft—may cause bruxism and associated headaches, a new study shows. But findings from study published in January in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry also showed that adding the antide-pressant Buspar (buspirone) relieved the symptoms.
"I think it’s important for doctors and people taking these drugs to be aware of this potential problem," study co-author Dr. John Michael Bostwick of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., told Reuters news service.
Researchers note that the family of antidepressants known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, work by suppressing the brain chemical dopamine. One of dopamine’s functions is to control muscular or motor activity. The tremors and other movement disorders associated with Parkinson’s disease, for example, are believed to be linked to reduced dopamine.
Dr. Bostwick and his colleague Dr. Michael Jaffe described a 61-year-old woman who reported severe nighttime teeth grinding, which started soon after she began taking Zoloft (setraline) and caused severe damage to her teeth. Another patient, a 35-year-old man, reported constant jaw clenching and severe headaches apparently connected with Zoloft use.
In both these cases, researchers said, symptoms were relieved when doctors added the non-SSRI antidepressant Buspar. They said Buspar may relieve symptoms by boosting the activity of dopamine.
Reuters quoted a Mayo Clinic statement noting that SSRIs are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States. Speaking of the bruxism and headaches apparently brought on by SSRIs, Dr. Bostwick observed, "We don’t know how common this problem is, but we suspect that if physicians begin to ask about it, they will find it to be quite common."
He said SSRI users experiencing tooth grinding and headaches don’t necessarily have to live with their pain. "We may be able to help them with another drug," said Dr. Bostwick, "while still allowing them to keep the benefit of their antidepressant."
