clenching/grinding teeth

“anybody else have probs with this? apparently i do it at night and it's causing my gums to recede from one of my teeth. some crazy dentist lady who looked at my mouth for two seconds told me i need a $600 night guard that my insurance doesn't cover...so i looked online about mouth guards, and apparently there are some you can buy a lot cheaper w/out going through a dentist.

has anyone had any experience with any of these? someone told me that the one their dentist gave them didn't fit and they couldn't even wear it...i'd hate to spend that kind of money that could be used for buying much more fun stuff on something i couldn't even wear.

also online, i saw some tapes you can listen to to hypnotize yourself into not clenching! LOL. but seriously, i was wondering if there weren't some other ways i could train myself not to do it.”

“My wife did this, and got a $40 appliance that probably does the same thing as the $600 one.”

“oh yeah, do you know what kind she got? there are like a million different ones online, and i'm not really sure what i'm looking for. i thought maybe these looked good, apparently you make your own mold and send it to them so the guard is custom-fitted...

http://www.precisiondentalworks.com/”

“If you un-clench, you'll probably go back to just drooling!”

“well i'm pretty sure i can do both at once! never underestimate my powers, Aero.”

“Do you drink a lot of coffee?”

“The one she got, she fitted herself by dunking it in boiling water for a minute or so, then putting it in her mouth and biting down.

I called her and she said it's called the "Lite-Plus Splint", made by RIS.”

“Maybe you could just use a hockey mouth guard. You can buy those pretty cheap and they form to your teeth--unless you have fangs.”

“I have the same prob. They want $300-450. Insurance doesn't cover it. And it's causing my teeth to have hairline fractures...which causes pressure/temperature sensitive...and i may have to get crowns if it gets worse....yet insurance won't cover preventative measures......f'ers

I grind so loud i wake pple up in the next room”

“awesome, thanks bitpusher!! so it works for her, huh?

good grief, Opie!! that's crazy it's loud enough to wake up people in the next room...yikes!

nope, i don't drink coffee at all, le Subtil. i think what happens is, i end up sleeping on my stomach a lot with my face smashed into the pillow and my jaw being pushed out of line...and then i over-correct by clenching my jaw muscles too hard, to pull my jaw back in line. that's when it hurts, when i wake up from sleeping on my stomach.”

“Yep, she's used it for years. I think she might need a new one though.”

“Good question, Lyra, I've been dealing with this in the last two weeks.

My jaw is basically locked in the open position. I havn't been able to fully chew food in almost two weeks. I went to the dentist last Monday. He gave me a temporary bite splint for $30 and said if that if it helps he can fit me for a permanent one for $665. My dental insurance doesn't cover it, but my medical insurance will cover it 50%. The dentist should take a mold of your upper teeth and custom-make the splint. They may have to "adjust" it later, as my dentist called it.

Everyone I've talked to here at work who has a bite splint says they can't live without it now that they have it. My temporary one is horribly uncomfortable for me, and I can't wear it at all. I'm trying to decide if I'll buck up for the permanent one. They all say the perm ones are super comfortable and they don't even know they have them in their mouth, but its taken care of a lot of jaw pain, headaches, and neck/shoulder problems for them.

My fiance's best friend's wife is a dentist, so I called her. She told me to get one for sure. Check to see if your medical insurance will cover part of it.”

“i think i have a pretty mild problem, smiley...no headaches or neck/shoulder problems, at least not on a regular basis. in fact, if the dentist hadn't told me why my gum was receding i would never even think the clenching was a problem. my jaw might hurt for like 5 minutes after i wake up, but that's it.

my dental & medical insurance is the same company, so they def. don't cover it...

well i will try one of the cheap ones and if it doesn't work i guess i'll go with a dentist-fitted one eventually. that one receded gum is not exactly the prettiest thing ever, LOL!”

“wow, i just read that more carefully...you haven't been able to chew for 2 weeks?? el sucko!”

“I had a similar problem when I was in college. I was so stressed out that I would grind and clench my teeth so much that my jaw would pop (it sounded like when you crack your knuckles only louder) every time I opened my mouth. I went to my doctor and he told me to sleep with a $10 soccer mouth guard in my mouth (the kind you put in boiling water and form it to your mouth). It took a few weeks, but my jaw stopped popping after I started using it.”

“El sucko is totally right. I can't put my back teeth together, so if it needs chewing, it hurts. I became a major stress case two weeks ago, and while the stress level is dimishing, my jaw problem isn't. Dentist said he could give me some muscle relaxers, which I'm now thinking about doing!

I'm still eating as normally as I can, but my jaw gets very sore afterword. I go back to the dentist on Thursday, so we'll see what he has to say.

I never noticed it before, but now my jaw does make that popping sound sometimes. It may have always done that, but I never paid attention.
last edited: 7/19/05 10:57:01 AM”

“I do it when stressed. I've become conscious of it and make my self relax. Don't think I do it in my sleep. Discovered because I was having some sensitivity and dentist (college friend) asked the right questions.”

“THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BREAK YOUR JAW, AND WIRE IT SHUT WHILE IT REFORMS...THAT SUCKS”

“I had this problem. It caused hairline fractures which lead to pain which caused me to go to the dentist. He told me that because of night clenching, I was damaging my teeth and needed a bite guard. But he wouldn't fit me for the guard until after all the problems were fixed. After 3 root canals and 4 crowns and thousands and thousands of dollars out of pocket (which took me years to afford so it took years to fully fix), my mouth is finally fixed.


I divorced my prick of a husband, and just like that, I stopped clenching/grinding in my sleep. So I don't need the guard anymore. For the first time in 5 years, on my last dental visit he didn't find any problems that needed to be fixed at all. Glory halleujah!!!”

“Hmmm, wonder if that's my wife's problem...”

“I'm thinking that once I get passed this stressful crap in my life (about two more weeks) I won't have problems anymore. So, I'm not sure that I'll get the bite splint.

Of course, it could be my fiance's fault. :)”

“see another dentist...get a second opinion...not all, but most, dentists are salesmen with a medical degree...a lot will try to sell you all kinds of stuff

also if you have a dental college in the area hit them up...a lot of the time they offer appliances at or slightly above cost
last edited: 7/19/05 2:51:57 PM”

“WHOA! Ruby said prick!

LOL at Bit!”

“I am rather surprised that got through the filter.”

“My wife got one for about $200-300 from her dentist (and we live in an expensive area) so I'm sure you can find them cheaper. But she doesn't use hers since it fell out of her mouth a couple of nights in a row. It's about size of a piece of bubble gum, and she's afraid she'll choke on it. Don't say I blame her.”