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GO TO A DENTIST! It sounds like you have TMJ. You can get a mouthguard at the store, but if you have insurance/can afford it, your dentist could make you a custom guard. Trust me, it doesn't get better on its own, and can lead to daily migraines, etc.
There's not much you can do at night, but my dentist told me to make sure my teeth are never touching during the day. It helps train you to relax those muscles.
Good luck! I know its awful and can be really miserable. (And its tough to get sympathy for "my jaw hurts"!)
I feel your pain. I clench and grind my teeth at night too, it hurts so much!
I've cracked teeth too from it, it's crazy to think you are capable of doing such a thing. I wake up every morning with a headache and suffer from so much tension too. I think it effects my ears too, as they always feel plugged.
I looked up on youtube some jaw stretches and they seemed to help a bit too.I've wondered about trying accupuncture and I got a mouth guard from Walmart for about 34 dollars that seems to help, but it falls out at night quite often.
I'm all for getting Veneers one day too!
I hear ya! I had no idea I grind my teeth until my sister mentioned it about a year ago when she was staying with me. I asked Mr. Aberry about it then, and he said, "oh yea you always have!" NEWS TO ME!! I have the same problems that you described... head, neck, shoulders... and it hurts to chew gum sometimes because my jaw is sore, especially in the morning. I generally also wake up with a headache. I just got my overnight guard from the dentist yesterday. I felt really nerdy putting it in before bed last night. I got to sleep just fine with it in even though it made me salivate quite a bit. (Ewww!!) The dentist told me that the first week it'll be kind of gross because your mouth senses something in your mouth and thinks it's food. double eww, I know. I slept until about 2am and woke up miserable. I couldn't stand it, so I took it out and slept the rest of the night without it. Hopefully tonight is better. I'm hoping to save my teeth from the damage that grinding causes. My eye teeth aren't pointy anymore because I ground them down so bad and the dentist had to build them up with white filling to look "normal". I'm gonna try to give the guard a chance to see if it helps. I'll update after I've had it a while. I got the more expensive one from the dentist because he told me that those bulky sports guards sometimes make people grind harder because they're soft and "chewable". Anyway, I feel your pain!
I used to grind my teeth when I was younger (my daughter does it too), not sure if I still do. I do clench a lot. Like if I'm frustrated, nervous, stressed, or sick I don't even realize I'm doing it until I have a headache or my jaw is sore. I've never chipped or broken a tooth though. My FH laughs because I will sit on the couch watching tv with my mouth hanging open to remind myself not to clench.
I know that I do that too. I tried to go the cheap route and buy the drug store remedies (mouth guards by soften them up in water and mold to your teeth). But they were uncomfortable and actually hurt more.
I went to the dentist and them professionally made - and it's great. FI also wears one too - so we are both comfortable at night.
I, too, grind my teeth. I tried many over the counter mouth guards but eventually bit the bullet and got a custom-made one. It's so expensive, but COMPLETELY worth the money! I've slept way better and had much less jaw and head pain. I wish I'd gotten my custom made mouth guard 3 years earlier!
My FI grinds his teeth in his sleep and it's just HIDEOUS! He went to the dentist and got a special mould for his top teeth and when he wears it he doesn't grind at all. He seems to sleep better with it in, he's more relaxed and seems to sleep deeper. When he doesn't have it in he bites and grinds... it wakes me up every time!
Only downside to the mouthguard is that most of the time when he wears it he's so asleep that he drools A LOT. LOL
Definitely worth it though cos we both sleep better when he wears it and he was actually doing a lot of damage to his teeth.
Thanks for all the comments, bees! It's interesting to know that this may be more common than I thought. Unfortunately, I do not have dental insurance at the moment so a pricey mouth guard is out of the question. But I am going to get to the closest drugstore ASAP for a cheaper version, and hopefully it will help (I'm gonna check out those jaw stretches, too). Thanks again, ladies!
I, too, have TMJ. Been putting off getting a mouth guard from the dentist for the last few years, but all of you have inspired me to go and get one. I grind at night and also find myself clenching during the day. Hope all of us are pain-free soon. :)
I've heard the ones in the store don't work well. I think it's best to get one custom-made at the dentist.
@AudzinLuv: I just read your post above after I already posted my reply. If you don't have dental insurance, then I guess you could try the store mouth guards, but I've heard from most people they don't work properly. Let me know if it works, as I may try one, too! Good luck!! Also, my husband can always tell when I'm more stressed out, because I grind more at night. I think trying to "de-stress" before bed may help-at least a little bit! I try to do deep breathing and relax before bed. :)
@AudzinLuv: Is there a local community college in your area that has a dental program? They often offer cheap dental care (like $20 cleaning) so that their students can get pratice on real patients. I did this because I didn't have insurance. It took several appointments but was super cheap and they did a great job because they are being graded. They can also fit you for a mouth guard which would be your best bet because the drug store ones don't always work well.
I have TMJ too and my puppy ate my nice $400.00 mouthguard!! I ended up getting one at the drug store, but it didn't fit right (even after molding it twice) and if you are a hard grinder you can easily grind through these. My SIL ended up making me a new one that is ultra thin and durable so I didn't have to get one at the clinic but I would have if she wasn't able to at her office.
Oddly enough I work for a dentist and this whole wedding process has turned me into a "clincher." Occlusal guards can be quite expensive and unless you dentist has a lab in your office it's going to take about a week and a half to get. So get in there as soon as possible!
I don't have dental insurance either (luckily I got my last guard when I did). But when I wear through this one, I'll still fork out the cash for another. I would bite through a store bought one in a week. I've ground a hole in my old one. Gosh, my bite guard is more important to me than virtually every other possession I have!
Going on migraine medicine helped me, maybe ask your doctor about that?
My FI actually had TMJ so bad that when he went to the dentist to have it looked at they said a piece of cartillage in his mouth moved and his jaw was "locked". We just had to pay almost $3k out of pocket to get a mouthpiece so that this cartillage will move back. Until then he is on a soft food diet. When the cartillage goes back they will fix his mouthpiece so that it doesn't happen again.
I worry I may be getting the same thing. My jaw has been aching for days even though I have been trying everything I can to make sure it hasn't. (I've always had probelms with gringing too). If it doesn't get better I may be seeing a dentist soon.
Don't buy a store nightguard, it's not worth it and it may make the problem worse. Your best bet is to get a nightguard professionally made by your dentist. They cost around $400, but that's alot less than the thousands of dollars you'll pay in repairing your damaged teeth. If you keep on grinding that heavily, other complications besides broken teeth can arise, trust me, you don't want to go there.
Good luck!
Oh I do this too, but during the day! A nightguard isn't really going to help me, but you should definitely try one.
I grind my teeth at night too. I don't notice it during the night, but FI tells me I do and sometimes he pokes me to wake me up. I have jaw pain and headaches, and I have ground small chips into some of my molars. I don't have dental insurance but I did go to the dentist when I had horrible jaw pain. He actually told me to try one of the store brand guards since I don't have insurance and literally can't afford to pay for the custom guard. I got one, and it works fine when I manage to keep it in, BUT I take it out in my sleep without realizing it. I keep waking up to find it on the nightstand, my pillow, the sheets, and once all the way across the room. I have no idea what to do to stop myself from yanking it out without even waking up! Any suggestions?
@Amani: I do too! I also chew the inside of my mouth all the time and I don't even know I'm doing it. My mouthguard is ultra thin, fits on the lower and doesn't pop my lower lip out like my old one did, so if I wanted I could wear it during the day and you can't even tell. It's almost like those invisalign braces in the sense that you can't see them.
My FI had been grinding for years. I can't tell you how much money he has had to spend on his teeth because of the grinding! A few years ago, he got a guard from his denist, and he now wears it every night. It has saved his teeth.
Thanks for all the info, ladies. I'm seriously going to contact the School of Dentistry (affiliated w/the Medical College of Georgia) downtown and see if they can get me an appointment. Hopefully they will charge me on a sliding scale based on my income. Sometimes it feels like my jaw goes out of alignment, too....SCARY!!!
@FutureSpice:I had the same problem with store bought ones, too. I would definitely start saving for a real mouthguard. Even though it's expensive, one mouthguard is MUCH less than even one root canal.
ugh, Fi does this and drives me crazy. i am constantly punching him in the middle of the night to get it to stop. I've told him to get a mouthguard but he doesn't wake up sore, in fact, he had no idea he did this. my mom has the same problem and got a mouthguard a few years ago. i think she wears it a few nights a week and she hasn't complained anymore.
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Apparently I grind my teeth at night. Everyone who's shared a bed with me (and even my college roommates) says it's so loud, but I'm completely oblivious until I wake up in the morning. My jaw is very sore and tight, my teeth ache horribly, and there's tons of tension all down my head, neck, and shoulders. I guess after years of doing this that my teeth have weakened so much that a couple molars have broken. Gross, I know.
I'm wondering if those little plastic thingies you keep in your mouth overnight work? Anybody else have a similar problem? I'm at the point where I want the dentist to yank out every single one of my ugly teeth and replace them with beautiful veneers!