Bruxism — teeth grinding or jaw clenching — happens when your stress response team remains activated even during sleep. Your trigeminal nerve, which controls jaw muscles, receives signals from an overactive nervous system. This creates a feedback loop: tension in jaw muscles sends distress signals to the brain, which responds by keeping muscles engaged. Meanwhile, your dental team (teeth and gums) bears the physical burden, and your sleep quality team suffers from the constant micro-arousals. The organism-as-team approach works because bruxism is never just about teeth — it's a whole-body stress signal. Your autonomic nervous system team needs downregulation, your muscular team requires release training, and your stress-hormone team needs rebalancing. By supporting your organism as interconnected systems, you can calm the vagus nerve that influences jaw tension, release trauma stored in facial muscles, improve sleep architecture so your brain processes stress better, and address the emotional team that may be "chewing over" unresolved concerns. Imagine your jaw muscles as security guards who can't clock out because the alarm system (stress response) won't turn off. The team approach helps you finally give them permission to rest. ⚕️ This protocol does not replace professional consultation.