[Typo]

Does anyone else have this issue? I constanly grind my jaw becasue of my anxiety and espically at night when I sleep because of the nightmares I have.

Have any of you found any night guards that work well? My jaw is constanly locking up or it hurts to chew. It is quite frustrating and I know it can lead to major dental damage if it gets anyworse, my dentist has told me before that my grinding is an issue and if it doesn't get better he will have to figure something out to do about it, I forgot what he said what it was but he told me to get some night guards or something, and I was wondering if anyone knew of anything that helps with this.

[ErinBear]

Yes, this can be an issue. I used to have a lot of problems with it as well.

If you clench or grind during the day, you can train yourself out of it. I used to have trouble with that. I have had a lot of trouble with my jaw joints, and I went to a clinic for treatment at a local university's dental school. They taught various exercises to relax the jaw, and also a helpful routine. Memorize this idea, "Lips together, teeth apart." Keeping your mouth that way is the easiest on your jaw. Keep checking yourself throughout the day, and make sure that you are following that idea - lips together, teeth apart. You can set a timer to remind yourself for the first week or so when you are at home (every 15 minutes or so). You can associate some frequent thing with the phrase to trigger a reminder; say, everytime you are at a traffic light, make it a reminder to check yourself. Are your lips together, and your teeth apart? Every time there is a commercial on television, are your lips together and your teeth apart? You'll get the idea, and start checking and reminding yourself more, and noticing it more often when you are clenching.

Bruxism (teeth grinding) at night is harder to conquer. It's true that you may need to get a guard for that, and it may be necessary to have one specially made. Your dentist may be able to refer you to a specially-trained dentist who can do this, or he may be able to make one himself. It's an investment, but it can help preserve your teeth and your jaw joints in the long run.

Take care,
ErinBear

[Christina86]

link about TMJ

That's what could eventually happen, not to scare you but to forewarn you.

I grind my teeth as well. At night, too much when I eat/chew gum, when I get stressed... so my dentist made me 3 different mouth guards. One for night-time (can't talk well with it), and two that are "weaker" and you can wear doing other activities and in public because they're harder to see (essentially transparent). Quite useful for the time I was using them, they saved my teeth unnecessary agony because I have sensitive teeth.

((((((((((Silversparrow))))))))))))

[Typo]

((((((((((ErinBear)))))))) (((((((((((((Christina)))))))))))

Thank you both for your responses, Erin I've been trying to remind myself the lips together teeth apart, thank you for that I'll have to turn it into a game or something.

Christina thank you for the link, it's definatly something I need to bring up with my doctor, it's a big possiblity since I've been grinding my jaw for years and this has come and gone for the past two.

Thank you so much!!!
Silver

[ErinBear]

Glad to be of help. I'll add that in my case, I wear a splint full-time; it has helped a lot. You may not need this, though. You may only need a night guard. But they can help a great deal, especially if you are having pain in your jaw joints, or trouble opening your mouth, etc. I wish you well!

Take care,
ErinBear

[(JD)]

I no longer wear a splint full time, but have had my back teeth built up to hold my resting jaw in place, and have a normal stop to a bite/chew! I need the build up to be permanent, which is what I'm working on now (crowns?) I also had to have both TMJs fixed in surgery (due to accident which led to my TMD.)

Don't put this off, long term bruxism due to stress can wear on your joints themselves and make it so you need surgery.

[Typo]

(((((((_Sky)))))))))

I was trying to get into my medical doctor yesterday for my jaw grinding issues and to discuss my anxiety, depression, and flashbacks, unfortunatley they couldn't fit me so I'm going to try next week.
Bruxism, that is what my dentist told me I could have if it contiued at the rate it was going. I think I see him next month so I can discuss guards and such.

[(JD)]

Talk to your pharmacist and see if you can get "generic" guard through your plan first. I wouldn't put it off another month if you don't have to. A script, if needed, should be able to come from your DDS, or have the DDS call the MDs office and have them phone in the script. You can get one at any drug store, but they cost at least $25... even the sports stores have some, but they don't mold to your jaw usually.

<font color="purple">I'll have to look at thi, usualy I wake up with my teeth/jaw hurting because I clench my jaw so hard when I sleep, sometimes I'm afraid my teeth will start become loose and falling out because of this + my poor dental health in general. </font>

[(JD)]

I just had my back teeth built back up to hold the lower jaw in it's proper place. They used a little more-permanent material this time, so hopefully it will last several months at least. What a difference! My jaw muscles etc can finally REST and when I chew, the jaw knows where to go and when to stop without overextending itself.

Sounds like your jaw muscles aren't getting any rest time...and the spasming during the night, due to the constancy of tenseness, exacerbates the situation. Catch 22.

Something I did while waiting the few days to get back into the DMD's office: I used tic tacs between my back teeth, to hold my jaw closer to where it belonged, and to allow my muscles to rest. You could try anything like that (don't chew gum, btw!) and see if say, after an hour or so your jaw isn't feeling better?

[PsyChris]

Grinding while awake is a learned habit and as ErinBear suggested can be unlearned.

Bruxism is a neuromusclar response of chewing while sleeping. It's not something that can be unlearned. Mouthguards are an option for treating Bruxism. If your insurance covers Botox injections they have been shown to be highly effective for weakening the jaw muscles while not impairing your ability to eat or facial expressions.

Many people associated botox injections with cosmetic surgery and that is true. However the original medical purpose of botox is for things like Bruxism.

[JimWriter]

many years ago , I worked in a physical therapy department , where the therapists actually treated folks who had TMJ. Your dentist or your regular physician can prescribe something for you if he feels that this is a treatment option for you. There are lots of physical therapists around.
Just another treatment option for you, in addition to the mouth guard.