Clenching teeth?

[indysteel]

I wouldn't be so quick to rule out TMJ (actually TMD is the better term). You do have one of the signs of it--teeth clinching--and you've experienced one of things that can cause it--whiplash.

[ny biker]

Interesting. I posted a long response to this yesterday and it is not showing up here. That's not the first time this has happened recently.

[Catrin]

Interesting. I posted a long response to this yesterday and it is not showing up here. That's not the first time this has happened recently.

I've also noted this, for some reason it is always the posts that I put the most time into that go walk-about.

[badger]

oh boy, do I ever know about clenching... I never thought about whiplash/neck injury as part of a cause, though, because my C1 is twisted due to what I believe to be a pretty nasty forceps delivery.

I've just spent close to $3000 on dental work in the past month; in the last 20 years I've probably spent over $10000 due to my excessive clenching (and yes, this is with a super fancy "balanced" nightguard that cost a grand and was supposed to help with headaches and clenching but nada).

My dentist suggest botox injections to relax my jaw muscles and the insurance company actually approved it, but it's only a temporary fix and not being able to chew normally scared me. It's temporary but it's still a few months if I don't like it.

My friend who is a dentist says counseling helps, that it's something from the subconscious. I resisted this, but the neck injury theory does sound plausible. I've done cranial sacral massage/osteopathy recently due to the excessive dental work I'm going through right now; she said my jaws were completely locked up and I was getting horrifying headaches that no pain medication helped.

Sorry this is more of my own woes and rant rather than helpful advice. I guess in the end, I'm a total pro at clenching my teeth, but aside from slowing the rate of breaking my teeth I haven't done a whole lot to address it. I'll be curious to find out if you'll come across a treatment that will help.

[Catrin]

I am finally recovered from the last episode, it seems to take a few days for my muscles to fully relax and for a few days I have to consciously prevent my jaws from clenching. While I am going to see both my dentist and my OD in January about this, before then I am going to be more intentional about a relaxing routine before bed. I already turn off the computer 2 hours before bed and turn off the television 1 hour prior (if it ever got turned on, many evenings it doesn't". I tend to keep busy however, sometimes up until when I go to bed. So, perhaps an enforced time of reading and gentle stretching is called for here. I've already put blackout curtains in my bedroom, and I cover the light on my alarm clock so my room is as dark as possible.

[OakLeaf]

You could try it, they're pretty inexpensive, but my experience as well as most of what I read is that OTC night guards (like dentist made ones that aren't adjusted often enough) actually encourage bruxing and clenching, by throwing your bite off and inserting something "chewy" that responds to movement. The dentist-made ones are hard resin so the muscles "know" to back off when they encounter it.

[indysteel]

You could try it, they're pretty inexpensive, but my experience as well as most of what I read is that OTC night guards (like dentist made ones that aren't adjusted often enough) actually encourage bruxing and clenching, by throwing your bite off and inserting something "chewy" that responds to movement. The dentist-made ones are hard resin so the muscles "know" to back off when they encounter it.

This. I wouldn't use an OTC product without at least first talking to your dentist.

[ny biker]

[QUOTE=OakLeaf;663297]You could try it, they're pretty inexpensive, but my experience as well as most of what I read is that OTC night guards (like dentist made ones that aren't adjusted often enough) actually encourage bruxing and clenching, by throwing your bite off and inserting something "chewy" that responds to movement. The dentist-made ones are hard resin so the muscles "know" to back off when they encounter it.[/QUOTE ]

Unless they are my muscles, in which case they just bite down harder, dig ridges into the plastic and cause a gap between my lower front teeth.

[Catrin]

I wouldn't be so quick to rule out TMJ (actually TMD is the better term). You do have one of the signs of it--teeth clinching--and you've experienced one of things that can cause it--whiplash.

Hmmmm, frankly I hadn't even considered this. I will look into it, thanks for mentioning this. What I described above may not happen often, but I need a resolution.