bipolar4l...I grind my teeth back ones mostly at night.I started doing this today? While just typing and watching tv. It usually happens when I am upset with hubby or son but now it is just happening for no reason? How can i stop this or something I am grinding them down to nothing My bridge is shot to heck? TY for reading
Responses (21)
masso416913 Apr 2011
Hello,
What you are experiencing is called "Bruxism". Click on the link and read all about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruxism
Take care.
smileyhappy
DzooBaby
Anonymous 
madhatter...13 Apr 2011
Hi: being a very 'hyper' person, I 'clench' my teeth and jaws all night--hence I've had to have all my gold crowns replaced! My dentist keeps trying to get me to wear a mouth guard, but I am a mouth breather, due to allergies, and I just never got comfortable with the ones he made me in the past--and they can be expensive! I just purchased (but haven't tried yet) an OTC version that I bought at Walgreens: Doctor's NIGHTGUARD Advanced Comfort... even this one cost $30-40.00~~but that is A LOT less than having one custom made for you--- you can try it out, to see if you can even tolerate wearing it before you spend the big bucks on a custom one.
Hope this helps! Mary, madhattersbash
DzooBaby
13 Apr 2011
You can try wearing the cheaper ones made for sports but more than likely you will grind right through those in a few nights. Hatter has a good idea. My dentist has been trying to get me to wear one too but grinding is only one of my dental/TMJ problems. My bite is SOOO bad that it takes 3-6 visits just to get a filling right!! lol She is right-the custom ones can cost upwards of 660 dollars or more! It may very well be worth it to try one for 40 bucks vs. 600+
Anonymous 13 Apr 2011
So sorry DZ,
I did it again, quoted you, so sorry!!!
Lara
bipolar4life
madhattersbash
doglover445 May 2011
I was a tooth grinder to the point of grinding the enamel off so I tried hypnosis which involved asking me in a hypnotic state to raise my finger if I was ready to stop. I felt my finger raise on its own and problem solved. He had suggested that my jaw was very heavy and open..lax. I hope you can find someone to do this for you as it was my last resort and turned out great.
jenzbugru...
elliep7 Jun 2011
Your best bet, although it's not all that practical for public use, is to get one of those rubber/plastic mouth pieces to prevent the teeth from grinding. There are OTC ones as well as custom made ones you can consult your dental professional about. Not only will it help your teeth, but it'll help you better realize when you're grinding so you can try another type of coping mechanism for the obvious stress that you're experiencing as well as help your jaw and facial muscles relax while you're sleeping. It'll make you feel more rested in the AM as well.
BP4life huh? Me too:)
2 Jul 2011
trust me when i say this im 44 years old i used to grind my teeth i was told to get a night guard ask for a thin one dont get a thick kind mine lasted 5 years i didnt wear it like i should have i had to go to the dentist every week to fill in the holes i was grinding in my teeth $100.00 a tooth average 4 to 5 a week or i would brake the new filling off from grinding so bad.well at 42 i had to remove all my teeth they where to the pulp the yellow stuff very very painful front teeth they where just little stubs i cryed for 3 full weeks the pain and having no teeth at 44 please please take care of your teeth ..if your teeth are flat and smooth on the bottom side and top side in the front aera you need to get help yesterday good luck i hope this can help you not sure how old you are but you are to young to loose your teeth GOOD LUCK ILL PRAY FOR YOU WV-KID
SonymanAnonymous 7 Jul 2011
Sonyman makes an interesting point here, he is also the ONLY person to not mention a mouth guard (I must add here that we ALL NEED TO READ other people's posts, we all suggested mouth guards!) and Xanax (a small small dose) at bedtime may help for a short while. But benzo's can be addictive, and difficult to get off of, so do be careful.
Good idea Sonyman!
15 Jul 2011
Good luck with this is problem. It's frustrating. I suggest the custom fit mouth guards because they are much thinner than the ones that you buy in sporting store and more comfortable. I still hate mine though! And yes - I feel bad for my husband who sometimes wants to kiss me goodnight after I've put it in. SO unattractive!
I had some success with a ergonomic pillow, but it only works if I lie on my back. When I lie on my back and my neck rests in curves - it seems to relax my muscles. But as soon as I lie on side - I go back to grinding.
I tried using a neck massager before going to bed, but it doesn't seem to help :(
I have been thinking about trying accupuncture for a long time, but I haven't gone yet.
People always tell me it's related to stress, but it seems to happen to me regardless of my stress level.
Sometimes I wake up with bad headaches as a result of it. Ugh.
Hatherly
15 Jul 2011
Also, my mouth guard from the dentist cost me about $200 after insurance. But I have had it for 6 years. It's a worthwhile investments it saves your teeth. Before I realized that I was grinding I had 2 root canals, those are far from cheap! Wearing the guard may save from lots of expensive dental work in the long run.
That being said - I haven't used the sporting mouth guards in about 20 years, so maybe they are better now.
13 Aug 2011
I work for an orthodontist and you do not want to get a mouthguard OTC. Unless you want to add TMJ problems to grinding your teeth problems. Best bet is see an orthodontist or dentist for a splint/nightguard. It is made out of a hard acrylic (plastic). It should be adjusted by the doctor to protect your joints and it will help you relax. The OTC type is soft and will actually cause you to grind more because you will want to chew on it. Bad for the TMJ joints. The expense of the splint is more but insurances are doing better at covering for TMJ/grinding issues and functional problems. The soft ones might be cheaper now but will cost you more in pain and money in the long run. I have a splint and wear it every night. It is something I can't live without. You get used to it and grow to love it. Best of luck.
Gatekeepe...13 Aug 2011
When was the last time you wormed your self, I was told that if you grind your teeth, especially at night, it was a sign that you have intestinal worms, something most people usuall don't like to to think about, but necessary, especially if you have pets and/or kids. You should be dosed about every 3-6 months, you need to do everyone in the house at once, including pets and wash bedding. It may not be the cause of your teeth grinding, but it may help, I've had several surgeons tell me that they have opened up kids to remove their appendix, ie presented with abdo pain, only to find them full of worms.. Not a good look that one.
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I dont know you or all your habits and dailly diet is made up of but they are very important things to be aware of and what they can cause because of short and or longterm use. My experience most people cause themselves worse or more notice mental disorders from the use of drugs and ussually dont care about the side effects because they dont believe they are addicts. However, there are many other cause where people born with certain mirror and major disorders too and did not need a trauma to trigger or a substance abuse problem to cause there condition. I said all this because little things like this happens in 9 out of ten people in the world everyday that are under stress. Honestly ask yourself, why is stress affect you in this way? Do you simply need to learn postive ways to handle stress.
Expand this post...
Are you on any stimulants or supplements for your weight and diet that could cause you to be restless or fill to pumped up? How much suger, caffine, ginsing and energy supplements do you drink or intake daily and what side effects are there to any and all medications are? Lastly if your reading and prolly thinking i am full of crap, how old are you or what stage of life are you in? There are a million reasons for this small and very common problem and a billion reasons for this problem for what little info you gave is lmao. I am really saying this is something that is beatable with self honesty and then learning ways to stop repeating this habbit through honest trails that work for you as a person. Be honest to yourself if anyone on earth cause you have to live with your and its easier if you learn what cause your behavior and how you react to stress. Example, 100 out of 100 people are scared the first time they get into a fight if they are brave or silly enough to fight that is. 7 out 10 people cant handle the idea of throwing the first punch to start a fight even when they are really pissed but still not physically threatened, however stress affects millions of people tremdously differently. Some people think that and say they are going to beat up there friend for there girlfriend cheating on them with as soon as they see them. Well, turns out most people are all talk and thats good or we would see people doing ultra aggressive things everytime stress did not cause them to realize they are not thinking logically, legally and ultimately with the best intentions for themself. Let a time during the day you catch yourself grinding your teeth or night you notice it, just stop and ask what am i thinking about when i was doing this or dreaming or happened or just ate or drank? thank you for reading my small medical book on gridding your teethe and honesty is the only way to undo are small problems to seriously even begin to figure out the big ones if we ever do. P.S. i will answer always with as much detail and real experience and or history and education on anything some ask me privately or publicy. Truth hurts and shames poeple at times throught there lives and even hurts them but its what they learn after they face there truth's will tell them are they a person who needs a lie to believe in to face the day? Or are you a person that is brave enough to face the truth even when it hurts you so bad that it would have been better to never known the truth. We I promise preffer to lie to ourselves for the majority of or lives and accept not seeing and or hearing, and of course feeling things then they can not hurt use. So again thank you for reading a ramblers rambling and i will never write this much again or you guys all will never talk cause i could answer like this again and thats really bad . thank you.
sorry i rambled off so much to you and everyone else on the sites topic to hear and see other peoples honest repiles. I am in the healthcare field and have recovered from and still recovering from almost being and most certainly trying every addicting substance that is in any medical book. I could have prevented those problems if i would have had the courage to take the next step that is harder after actually seeing why i acted the way i did and the truth was scarier sober so i got cooked on everything possible to try and see if i could face my own fears and i found. After I lost all the friends except for about three and my grandparents and amazing mother. I would later loose more family friend of mine to suicide from his depression caused by his battles with oxycotin. Thank you guys this has helped me more than it will you guys probably. thank you.