[chalmette70043]

i hope this is where this thread should be.

I found out today, by someone with a flashlight looking in my mouth, that i have a cracked tooth. Its been hurthing for awhile, but each day getting worse. In the morning is when i have most of the pain. But, i have a problem with grinding my teeth. Something from anxiety i guess.

Any of ya'll have this happen to you? I'm going to go to a dentist and see what can be done and if there is someway i can pay for it to get it fixed.

When i go should i tell the dentist the meds that i am on? I dont want to, but if its necessary i guess i will.

I've been telling my pdoc for over a year now i cant relax, i cant stop grinding my teeth. He says try to relax. I dont know, that just came out of my head. Im just worried i cant get a payment plan with a dentist and then i'll just want someone to pull the tooth out with pliers.

[deliquesce]

i think dentists are meant to ask what meds you are on. i would tell them - they would be used to hearing it.

i cant really give any medical advice, but one thing i could suggest is wearing a mouth guard when you sleep - that way you will be protecting your teeth for at least that amount of time.

[Shelle]

grinding your teeth while sleeping is about anxiety, worry and also a form of complaining, perhaps you need to let out your resentments while awake to stop grinding your teeth while asleep.

[notz]

Wow! I never realized it was that easy! to stop, I mean.
Pardon my sarcasm. It's just not that simple!

All my teeth are fractured. I mean all of them. I am lucky that I have good dental insurance because the crowns are coming just as fast as I can pay for them.

I wear guards. They haven't made one yet that I don't spit out when I'm asleep. *sigh*

notz

[Zen888]

I have been told be others that I grind my teeth and snore very loudly at night. I cannot hear it when I am sleeping of course.

My dentist have put in this special white filler substance into the cracks in my teeth...kinda of like fillings for cavities but only it matches the colour of your teeth.

[shezbut]

Originally Posted by chalmette70043

i hope this is where this thread should be.

I found out today, by someone with a flashlight looking in my mouth, that i have a cracked tooth. Its been hurthing for awhile, but each day getting worse. In the morning is when i have most of the pain. But, i have a problem with grinding my teeth. Something from anxiety i guess.

Any of ya'll have this happen to you? I'm going to go to a dentist and see what can be done and if there is someway i can pay for it to get it fixed.

When i go should i tell the dentist the meds that i am on? I dont want to, but if its necessary i guess i will.

I've been telling my pdoc for over a year now i cant relax, i cant stop grinding my teeth. He says try to relax. I dont know, that just came out of my head. Im just worried i cant get a payment plan with a dentist and then i'll just want someone to pull the tooth out with pliers.

Hi Chalmette,

Not uncommon. Your doctor telling you to just try to relax is ridiculous! If it were that freakin easy, you wouldn't be there in the first place . Sorry, I do have "issues" with this general topic at times, lol !

Mouth Guards are supposedly helpful at night. It's best to be properly fitted prior to buying though! Different people have different sized mouths. In the daytime, whenever you feel your jaw clenching tightly, relax it as much as possible.
http://www.ada.org/public/topics/grinding.asp

Best wishes!
Shez

[Christina86]

You're not the first person to grind your teeth, and you won't be the last! It's not exactly controllable when you're asleep either.

Have you ever had braces/orthodontics at all? TMJ can cause your jaw to be aligned differently, so your teeth grind together.

Even if it isn't TMJ ... you're still grinding your teeth and that's bad for them! Go to your dentist and see about getting more than one mouthguard that you can wear so you can't grind your teeth.

I have three of them - two for daytime, and one for night. The two daytime ones are different thicknesses - one is barely noticeable, and it's quite easy to both talk and drink with it on (not recommending you eat with it on since it might degrade that way). The other daytime one is just slightly more noticeable, but doesn't impact my speech - but it's more thick for when you don't neccessarily NEED to talk, but you are grinding your teeth. I actually use those two interchangeably mostly.

The nightguard is another story altogether. It's thick and a bit big. It's bloody impossible to talk normally when it's in your mouth since it covers your pallette. You either sound like you're drunk, or you have a lisp. It requires you to run it under hot water to make it malleable to insert, and you have to gargle warm water in the morning to take it out - otherwise it WON'T come out unless it's taking your teeth along with it!

It does wonders for my teeth pain and jaw pain to have it. It also prevents wearing down of enamel and lessens the possibility of finding another way to hurt your teeth! I highly recommend it.

[chalmette70043]

deliquesce, thanks. I'll have to write down what meds i take and the mg's to take with me i guess.

Shelle. lol. I'm trying to let that stuff out. But yeah, i've been dx'd with severe anxiety. I see a counsler once a week. I just have a very hard time getting the stuff inside out.

Notz, neither did i. I thought it happened with a fist to the jaw or something like that.

Hey Zen. I'm pretty sure i dont snore. lol. At least i never heard myself. I dont know what the dentist is going to do. But i'm nervous as hell about this.

Shez. I agree with ya. I've told my pdoc over and over about this and i always get the same exact answer. I am on 1mg of klonopin that i take one in the morning and one at night. But honestly this med does not do much for me. I've told him the majority of the time to get myself to where i can at least have some calmness i have to take another 1/2. And i really hate having to do that. I don't wanna get hooked on it. So i try as much as i can not to go over that 1mg. I've tried reading,etc. I cant sit still. Well you know anxiety i dont have to go into that.

During the day when i catch myself grinding i open my mouth and just try to keep it open. But my mind goes off and again i catch myself again. Like that all day.

Hey Christina. I havent ever had braces. Growing up, surprisingly i never had a problem with my teeth, not even a cavity. This grinding didnt start until that adrenaline started when we were evacuating for katrina and it hasnt stopped. My teeth now are whacked out, grinded down and one cracked, maybe more. Man, i hope not.

Just today a few people told me about mouthguards. they said get them through the dentist not from the drugstores. I was going to look at Walgreens tomorrow, but i'm probably just going to wait till i see the dentist next week. Like you said, get the kind the fit to your mouth specifically. I know i need one for nightime. I'd wear one during the day too if necessary. Anything to help this problem.

I tried getting my pop to pull it out with pliers this evening, just messing with him. And he tells me when i was a kid i wouldnt even let him put string on a loose tooth to yank it out.

Thank ya'll so much. Ya'll made me feel a little more secure with this.

chal

[possum220]

Dear Chalmette,

I used to wake up with horrible headaches from grinding my teeth.
I went to a prosthodontist and had a splint made for my mouth. It's just a small plastic fitting that gets moulded to fit two teeth.

It fits onto your top two front teeth. It simply stops you from having the ability to close your jaws at night. Much the same as a mouth guard would, but an 8th of the size. Your dentist should be able to point you to some-one who knows how to make them.

Anyway it sure stopped my headaches.

Possum

[chalmette70043]

hey possum. you know that never crossed my mind. I have these headaches daily and cant figure out why i have them. my pdoc has lowered, raised, changed meds. the headaches dont go away. duh, im dumb. why didnt i think of that.

I will ask the dentist about the mouth splint too. thanks for telling me about the splint. I'd never heard of that.

I just know i'll do whatever. And now that i know this is probably whats causing the headaches. I think i'll be more apt to get off the couch and out from under the cool face towel.

[Rhapsody]

I have TMJ and I grind my teeth at night and the mouth guard my dentist made for me has been a life saver..... my headaches have almost vanished after suffering from Migraines for some twenty plus years.

[HALLIEBETH87]

i dontknow if its the same thing, but when im stressed and getting anxious i start to clench my teeth and it kinda goes into me grinding them. gah! sometimes i feel like i have a huge cavity from where ive been clenching my teeth and its the particular tooth.

[chalmette70043]

HI (((((Rhap))))) Thanks for answering.

I have a question for you. I dont expect you to know the answer, but im hoping you do. lol
Can TMJ run in the family? I've got two aunts with TMJ. I've never thought it to be that. I heard TMJ is very painful to. I have pain from this grinding, but i dont know if its the pain of TMJ. I have a high threshold for pain and most of the time cant tell i have a problem till its too late or almost there.

I'm glad your feeling better. Suffering with migraines for twenty years. Thats alot of time..

chal

[chalmette70043]

Hallie hey you!

The one tooth that looks to be cracked hurts. But i can't tell you if its like a cavity pain. I've been told to drink something cold and see if it hurts worse. I did that and it didnt feel any different. But if i put pressure on it when i eat that hurts, so i been sticking to the right side of my mouth for eating. Now the rest of my teeth and inside of my mouth are all sore. I'm scared to go to the dentist but i want this all over with.

[Rhapsody]

Yes, TMJ can be hereditary, but more often than not TMJ is caused by arthritis or poor tooth contact and/ or teeth grinding while you sleep.

#1 symptom of TMJ (besides jaw pain) is popping of the joints in the jaw.
I would check with your dentist to see what might be going on.

[StephanieDV]

Hey everyone, I recently wrote this over in the sleep forum and dream interpretation because i didnt know where to put it, I was freaking out so I thought grinding in sleep..hey a sleep forum, it should go there..lol

anyways, here is the link to the thread

http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=94819

This happened to me just yesterday..I am wondering If I popped something.. oh man

[chalmette70043]

Thankyou Rhap for that information. I'll see what happens. Wednesday is the appointment and hopefully he says, "oh you just need a mouth guard. No cracked tooth, nothing else wrong." In my dreams, huh.

hugs
chal

[chalmette70043]

Stephanie thanks for sharing your thread with us here on mine. I think it gave more light to the problem. I hope you get the problem with your teeth fixed. And hopefully i get mine too.

thanks

[Taonuviel]

Ugh, this really bothers me too. I end up pushing the inside of my cheeks or my tongue between my teeth to bite on instead of grinding, and lots of headaches, too. But I have no money for a dentist, so I guess I'll have to make do with my tongue!

[Christina86]

((((Taonuviel))))))))) I don't know the rules/regulations/payment way of doing things in the US... but do you not see a dentist whatsoever? That's a bit worriesome from my perspective. Can you look into payment-plans/options that would allow you to pay a little at a time, instead of all at once? Or perhaps there is insurance or other programs that would help offset the overall cost??

[Taonuviel]

Medicaid didn't even cover dental, and I don't have that anymore. I have lots of reasons to see a dentist, but can't unless I have no choice - I had tooth pain in 2007 and had to get a root canal and cap, I went to the low-cost clinic but it still cost a lot - it would have been over $1000, so I got a temporary crown instead of a permanent one... and that one popped off a year ago... was supposed to last much longer than that. But I don't have anything I can do about it, my tooth is just filled and shorter than it should be.

[susie2009]

I grind my teeth too. Do you have a way of getting some kind of dental payment plan with no interest for a year. I guess stress could make us too this. I really don't know. I have like every tooth in my head either filled, or something. I now have one crown.

[chalmette70043]

Tao and Susie, I really hope ya'll end up being able to get the help to fix the grinding of your teeth.

I didnt think this grinding i had caused that bad of a problem. But i just got home from the dentist and theres quite a bit messed up. He wrote everything down for me cause i can't remember a damn thing, but i went and forgot the paper he wrote it all down on. So bare with me.

First thing he said my jaw is not aligned. So he sawed down a few teeth to align it. Grinding caused that. The he took a bunch of xrays. Instead of the one tooth i thought was a problem there are three. He said from what he sees in the xrays it looks like stress something. Not exactly a crack or fracture. Something that would heal on its own if treated correctly. But those three teeth are badly bruised and im now on an almost liquid diet until i can chew without pain. He said i should notice a difference within 2-3 weeks. I have to wear a mouth guard on the bottom teeth. One of those football player mouthguards. lol. And i have to put polygrip, that denture adhesive, in the guard so it doesnt fall out. He wants me to wear it 24-7, except for times i eat or drink something other than water.

I have to go back in June and he will take more xrays to see about those three teeth. He said he will absolutely have to saw down some teeth again because it will take a few times of doing this to get my jaw back in alignment.

He said no TMJ, but from what i described to him it could be the start of it. So thats something else i need to watch out for.

Hopefully this pain goes away faster than 2-3 weeks cause im dying for some boiled crawfish and my nephew will be in to visit and wanting to eat alot of the food down here. If not i'll just deal with it like i've been. Hell i couldnt even eat a piece of crispy bacon today. I'm gonna follow his rules and do what he says and i'll keep ya'll updated on how this pans out.

Thank ya'll for all contributing to this thread. It's helped me alot.

hugs
chal

[shezbut]

(((Chal)))

Great that you've finally gotten s decent professional to assess the situation ~ rather than the other guy, telling to just stop clenching your teeth, lol! I wish you the best, tc!

Shez

[chalmette70043]

Hi Shezbut. Thank ya.

Well i just tried the mouth guard and it isnt working. I cut it like he said and it was still bulging like i was a football player. I'm now sitting here with a bottle of water becuase it caused my gums to start bleeding from the pressure of it pushing down. So no mouth guard tonite. I'll see if there is something that isnt so obnoxious at Walgreens tomorrow. If not, i guess i'll have to see how much it is from the dentist. Which i doubt i can afford. Anyway, i'm tired and i'm aggravated with this all.

Ya'll enjoy your day, your night.
chal