Clenching teeth?

[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.

[OakLeaf]

Nothing's going to work for everyone for sure, but I wonder if you just weren't getting yours adjusted often enough. Part of the reason I gave up on mine is that it needed adjustment about every two weeks. If I let it get out of adjustment, it caused more problems than it solved. I was just spending way too much time at the dentist for the amount of relief it was giving me.

[Catrin]

I've called my dentist and am seeing them Wednesday morning about this after determining my insurance will cover the exam and any possible x-rays. Hopefully they will have an idea, my next step will be my OD if they can't solve it.

[Catrin]

I saw my dentist today and she didn't even bother to take an x-ray after checking my mouth out. Apparently my symptoms are classic for clenching or grinding, and she thinks the whiplash altered my alignment just a bit - just enough to cause a problem. I've a significant overbite and she is actually surprised that it never occurred prior to my injury. Anyway, she recommends I try the inexpensive mouth-guard version from the store and if that causes a problem we will discuss a true custom hard version.

Apparently this can present with either muscular problems, dental pain, or both. In my case it is purely dental, I don't know if that is a blessing or not... Anyway, at least I now know what is going on, and that is a relief.

[ACG]

I am currently undergoing treatment for this with my dentist. I grind my teeth because I'm too high strung. It stopped when I got my divorce but recently started up again. I broke 2 filings and had to have 1 tooth capped. I've never had a neck injury.

One dentist suggested that because of my severe sinus/allergies was part of the cause, he said not all of it.

I have a night guard. It is me, I do worry and don't show it, so I grind my teeth. Sometimes during they day I find myself doing it too.

You are not alone, hope you find a good solution.

[tulip]

I grind my teeth while I sleep, too. I use a night guard, which I've had for over six years and it's still fine. The dentist just checked it this week. When I do yoga or meditate regularly, I find that I grind less. Looks like it's time to make that a habit again.