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Polgeria asked in HealthDental · 1 decade ago

I grind my teeth at night?

I grind my teeth at night, and my dentist told me to sleep with a sports guard (My insurance won't cover the dental guard) at night.

Is there anything else I can do during the day, because my jaw is very sore and it's hard to eat sometimes. Also, does anyone know a good way to make my jaw relax?

Update:

It's because of stress. I grind during the day too, but can catch myself and stop doing it. I'm taking meds and vitamins for the stress, but it doesn't help with the grinding.

Update 2:

I wore the guard around the clock for a month, and it got better. But everyone in awhile it just gets real bad. Like the last 2 days, I just started to notice the jaw pain again, after a few months of no pain.

4 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    I think what you have is called TMJ. It's probably caused by stress like the others said. It can also be caused by bad posture and a whole array of other things. I had the same thing and I found some exercises that really helped.

    Check out this site: http://www.treatment-for-tmj.com/treatments-for-tm...

    That site has a book full of exercises and stuff that I decided to buy, totally worth it. The exercises look a bit funny when you do them, but they worked! My pain went away after about a week.

    It has some free videos there too that will help. Hope you start feeling better soon!

    Sam

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Hi,

    If you continue to grind/clench your teeth, you will wear down your teeth and will have massive pain .. I would recommend checking out in purchasing a non-expensive One-Size fits all night guard.

    One-Size Night Guards (night, sports, general, etc.) are definitely a viable option, if you are experiencing grinding, clenching, or bruxism. I would recommend checking out www.totalgard.com - They have some great night guards that eliminate the issues I mentioned earlier. They are a proven distributor online and everyone seems satisfied with the company. Their night guards range from $5.95-24.95. Custom mouth guards from your doctor can range from $300-500+ .. I hope this helps!

    Dave :D

  • Ritz
    Lv 5
    1 decade ago

    first of all you have to find out the cause of the grinding. it can be due to stress or some high filling or because of occlusion interference. accordingly the treatment is done. but you have to wear the night guard till the cause is resolved. for more information on bruxism you can visit the following link

    http://www.identalhub.com/articlecategory-teeth-gr...

  • 1 decade ago

    I've heard that teeth grinding is due to indigestion. You shouldn't be eating less than an hour before bed, because your body doesn't digest food as well when you're asleep.

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