Are there any techniques to prevent teeth grinding at night?

[Red Squirrel]

I recently found out that I am grinding my teeth at night. So dentist got me fitted for a night guard, but honestly, I just can't fathom being stuck with this for the rest of my life. I have yet to spend a whole night with it, it's just too uncomfortable having something this bulky in my mouth, and it makes me salivate a lot so I'm worried I'm going to wakeup to a huge puddle of drool all over the bed, or choke on my own saliva if I sleep on my back. It was fitted properly and they've checked it out and all so there is nothing wrong with it, it's just me, I really don't like having it in my mouth it's just not comfortable.

I want to figure out other options. Is there anything I can do to simply stop the grinding from happening in first place? I imagine this must be a somewhat mental health related thing, like stress. I don't really feel stressed but maybe internally I am. Any vitamins/foods I should be trying to get more of, or less of? Ex: coffee, should I reduce intake? What about vitamin B12 would that be a good idea to take? Could some form of muscle relaxant help? Basically, is there any kind of life style change I can make that can somehow affect it, and make it stop?

I googled and found a couple things like some mouth exercises you can do before bed. I also caught myself clenching in the day, without realizing, so I'm trying to be more concious of how my jaw/teeth are positioned so that I keep the teeth separate and same at night when I'm trying to fall asleep I make sure my teeth are not touching, so I'm hoping that by doing this in the day might help at night too?

Any other ideas?

 

[sandorski]

I started going asleep with my tongue between my Teeth. I have no idea if it works other than I have been doing it for years and haven't noticed any issues.

 

[bbhaag]

You got any extra stress going on in your life right now? The only reason I ask is because my wife used to grind her teeth something awful a few years back but now she doesn't. At the time she was super stressed about her job and just life in general and the way things in our lives were going. You know things like financial and relationship stress with the kids and everything.
Anyway, just something to consider. I know it's not exactly the best advice but it might give you a place to start looking.

EDIT: Maybe stressed was the wrong word to use. It was almost like she was very anxious or maybe apprehensive about life at the time. IDK what I'm trying to say.....it's hard to put into words.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I think it's maybe a bit of passive stress. Been thinking a lot more about how things are so tight financially and life is just so short and I don't have enough money or time to do all the things I want because costs of living just keep going up and I spend most of my time working only so I can pay bills. I feel like I'm just falling more and more behind as my bills take more and more of my income. I would not say it's a HUGE source of stress though, just a passive thing, where I keep telling myself I need to find a way to dig myself out of this hole if I want to actually have money for my own wants. I don't exactly loose sleep over any of this though so it's not like depression or anxiety or anything like that. I have been through that before but that's not what's happening now.

This has been going on for a while I think though, I just finally decided to address it more seriously recently as it's probably bad for my teeth. It started off with some mild jaw pain maybe a year or so ago that I decided I should get checked, since I thought it was my wisdom teeth. When they checked they said I probably grind at night since my jaw muscles are like 3x as strong as they should be. Wisdom teeth were ruled as not an issue and at this point in life I should leave them.

 

[sdifox]

Get a mouthguard that is custom formed.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I want to actually find a way to stop doing it. Already have the mouthgurad but it's just not something I want to be stuck with for the rest of my life.

I have not been able to keep it on, it's just too uncomfortable and bulky and it keeps my lips from touching which just feels unnatural.

 

[mike8675309]

How long has it been going on? Some people have architectural issues that make them more prone to it. Custom mouthguards work well and shouldn't get in the way of sleeping. You just need to get used to it.

 

[Red Squirrel]

How long has it been going on? Some people have architectural issues that make them more prone to it. Custom mouthguards work well and shouldn't get in the way of sleeping. You just need to get used to it.

I think it's been going on for a few years as the symptom was jaw pain and it was not bad enough to worry about but then decided to get it checked before covid started as I thought it was my wisdom teeth but the surgeon said I probably grind and that's where the pain comes from. Dentist did say there is a bit of wear on some tooth. I'm actually wondering if I'm doing it in the day too and not at night, if that's the case it will be easier to stop, I just need to be more conscious of it. But chances are it's at night since the jaw pain is more apparent in the morning. I sometimes catch myself resting my teeth together in the day though so working on that and maybe it will help to avoid at night too? I don't think it's any architecture issue, my teeth are actually pretty decent as far as that goes and I would hope the dentist would have checked that.

I did read of a few techniques like putting your tongue on the roof of your mouth and trying to leave it there. You start to get used to doing that and it ends up being it's natural resting position, and guess that somehow helps with the grinding.

I will start by reducing my caffeine intake especially near bed time, as I did read that can be a contributor. Alcohol too, though I don't really drink regularly. Something to keep in mind for when I do choose to drink though, maybe I should avoid doing it at night and do it in the day only.

 

[killster1]

they have teeth whitening kits that come with two parts for a mouth guard mold. https://www.amazon.com/Remi-At-Home...=Dental+Impression+Kit&qid=1606256117&sr=8-17
something like that. of course you can just start up meditation and not worry so much about robo calls at work, perhaps even avoid noc shift.

 

[killster1]

they have teeth whitening kits that come with two parts for a mouth guard mold. https://www.amazon.com/Remi-At-Home...=Dental+Impression+Kit&qid=1606256117&sr=8-17
something like that. of course you can just start up meditation and not worry so much about robo calls at work, perhaps even avoid noc shift.

 

[Gardener]

I recently found out that I am grinding my teeth at night. So dentist got me fitted for a night guard, but honestly, I just can't fathom being stuck with this for the rest of my life.

You are lucky you caught it in time. Wear a guard and save your teeth. You'll get used to wearing one. There is no plan B, short of crowns, implants, and veneers. Nothing makes you look older than your years than worn teeth.

In addition, don't bite your nails, or clench/grind while you are awake. It's an OCD for some people during waking hours to keep working their teeth back and forth. Do some meditation for that, and be self-aware. There are even small biteguards that are worn by some during waking hours.

 

[Red Squirrel]

You are lucky you caught it in time. Wear a guard and save your teeth. You'll get used to wearing one. There is no plan B, short of crowns, implants, and veneers. Nothing makes you look older than your years than worn teeth.

In addition, don't bite your nails, or clench/grind while you are awake. It's an OCD for some people during waking hours to keep working their teeth back and forth. Do some meditation for that, and be self-aware. There are even small biteguards that are worn by some during waking hours.

Yeah that's why I want to try to find ways to stop it, period. I keep trying to put the thing on but it's just too uncomfortable to try to fall asleep with it and it makes me constantly salivate so I need to keep swallowing the saliva. So it keeps me busy so I can't relax and fall asleep. It feels like having a hockey puck in my mouth. When I originally got fitted for one I figured it would be more like a rubber that is thin and just goes around the teeth but it's more like a big chunk of plastic. It's like putting dentures on top of your teeth.

 

[Gardener]

I grew up in the 60's, wore headgear braces, you can learn to live with it. The type of biteguard you get from the dentist is a hard plastic that aligns your teeth and reduces grinding, they are very low-profile compared to the cheap sports-type moldable units that you can buy at the drugstore (Dr's Nightguard). You might consider trying a cheap one if you ever wore a hockey mouthguard. Or ask your dentist about other options.

The dentist-fabricated one my wife wears is quite thin, although it is hard plastic. I occasionally wear the cheap drugstore one when I notice I've been clenching, its like a sports guard, and bothered me the first few nights I wore it.

There are people who sleep with CPAP machines, it just takes getting used to it.

 

[KMFJD]

Dentist had to move me to a thicker mouth guard as the original one i would grind through within a couple of months.....you get used to it

 

[Red Squirrel]

I see that as a bandage though, I want to fix the actual problem, not be stuck having to live with that. The one I got is from the dentist, though it's far from low profile. It's a good 1cm thick. Thankfully I don't have sleep apnea as having to have a cpac has got to suck even more. I tend to have trouble falling asleep but once I'm asleep I'm ok. So anything that makes me uncomfortable only makes it that much harder to fall asleep. Even for those who have sleep apnea, they should actually be giving surgery to fix it instead of telling people that they're stuck using a machine for the rest of their lives. I feel medicine today is about putting a bandage on a problem instead of actually fixing the problem.

 

[Brainonska511]

I see that as a bandage though, I want to fix the actual problem, not be stuck having to live with that. The one I got is from the dentist, though it's far from low profile. It's a good 1cm thick. Thankfully I don't have sleep apnea as having to have a cpac has got to suck even more. I tend to have trouble falling asleep but once I'm asleep I'm ok. So anything that makes me uncomfortable only makes it that much harder to fall asleep. Even for those who have sleep apnea, they should actually be giving surgery to fix it instead of telling people that they're stuck using a machine for the rest of their lives. I feel medicine today is about putting a bandage on a problem instead of actually fixing the problem.

Sleep apnea is not always fixable by surgery. I would bet a majority of cases are actually not fixable that way.

I don't see why you're going through so much trouble to avoid the mouth guard to wear at night. I have one and it isn't a big deal. It's low profile and low maintenance. Helped a ton when I started to have jaw pain. Plus, my dental coverage cut the cost in half and then picked up 50% of the remaining bill.

Perhaps there is some underlying stress issue causing grinding. But I don't think there is some easy fix to stopping.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I have yet to be able to last more than 5 minutes with that thing in. It's just too bulky and uncomfortable. I'm just glad I never needed braces, I don't know how people go through that tbh. If I can manage to get used to it to the point that I can fall asleep I'll use it until I can figure out how to stop the clenching in first place, but I just don't want to be stuck with this for rest of my days.

I do catch myself starting to clench as I fall asleep sometimes, it's like the muscles go into a more twitchy state. I really wonder if there is a diet way to fix this. Reduce sugar intake, caffeine? Just a wild guess. Sugar is bad and it is something I need to work on anyway... it's just that so many foods have sugar in it so it's hard. OR maybe it's something I'm not getting enough of maybe? Wonder if I should see a nutritionist or something. Could getting bloodwork done indicate anything? My doctor is always super reluctant to send me for it though, and never really sends me for a full one. Are naturopathic doctors authorized to send people for bloodwork, maybe I can go that route? I might even do that anyway as they may have life style tips like certain exercises I can do or something.

Basically I just want to get to the bottom of what is causing it instead of applying a super intrusive bandage that is going to cause me other issues like being uncomfortable and having trouble sleeping because of it.

 

[sdifox]

 

[Red Squirrel]

^ That's basically what it feels like lol.

 

[Maxima1]

When they checked they said I probably grind at night since my jaw muscles are like 3x as strong as they should be.

I found the problem. XD

Due to the higher fire frequencies in the eastside forest communities, some of the conifer species that red squirrels depend on produce cones with very hard scales or are serotinous (only open during extreme heat from fires). As a result, red squirrels in this region have very strong jaw muscles and bite force in comparison with Douglas squirrels that only feed from trees that produce softer cones.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I found the problem. XD

Due to the higher fire frequencies in the eastside forest communities, some of the conifer species that red squirrels depend on produce cones with very hard scales or are serotinous (only open during extreme heat from fires). As a result, red squirrels in this region have very strong jaw muscles and bite force in comparison with Douglas squirrels that only feed from trees that produce softer cones.

Funny thing is I can confirm both those things. I often find pine cones that are super hard and the only way to get them open seems to be fire or boiling water. I've also been bitten by a squirrel, more than once.

 

[Brainonska511]

I have yet to be able to last more than 5 minutes with that thing in. It's just too bulky and uncomfortable. I'm just glad I never needed braces, I don't know how people go through that tbh. If I can manage to get used to it to the point that I can fall asleep I'll use it until I can figure out how to stop the clenching in first place, but I just don't want to be stuck with this for rest of my days.

I do catch myself starting to clench as I fall asleep sometimes, it's like the muscles go into a more twitchy state. I really wonder if there is a diet way to fix this. Reduce sugar intake, caffeine? Just a wild guess. Sugar is bad and it is something I need to work on anyway... it's just that so many foods have sugar in it so it's hard. OR maybe it's something I'm not getting enough of maybe? Wonder if I should see a nutritionist or something. Could getting bloodwork done indicate anything? My doctor is always super reluctant to send me for it though, and never really sends me for a full one. Are naturopathic doctors authorized to send people for bloodwork, maybe I can go that route? I might even do that anyway as they may have life style tips like certain exercises I can do or something.

Basically I just want to get to the bottom of what is causing it instead of applying a super intrusive bandage that is going to cause me other issues like being uncomfortable and having trouble sleeping because of it.

How big is this night guard? Mine is pretty thin - like a small retainer that keeps me from biting down completely. You could always try putting it in 30 minutes before bed to try and acclimate yourself to it.

 

[Red Squirrel]

13-16mm thick (like if you measure the outside part) with 13 being the front part and 16 the back as it widens as it gets near the back. The walls (say, between the outside, and the tooth hole) that wrap around the teeth are around 3-4mm thick at the places I could easily measure, bottom part is thicker, probably more like 5-6. The outside is basically all a solid piece, and the shape of my teeth are then carved inside. It does not look that bad but when it's in, but it just feels super bulky. It squeezes my lips open so they can't close, and because I basically have a giant chunk of something in my mouth it goes into salivate mode because it's a natural instinct when you put food in your mouth. So I'm spending my time swallowing the saliva so I don't drool all over. It's just so intrusive, I don't want to be stuck dealing with this for the rest of my life and rather find a way to fix the actual issue.

 

[Brainonska511]

So I'm spending my time swallowing the saliva so I don't drool all over. It's just so intrusive, I don't want to be stuck dealing with this for the rest of my life and rather find a way to fix the actual issue.

I found that this issue largely went away after about a week or two of regular use. Putting it in before going to bed for 20-30 minutes also helped to acclimate my mouth.

I still drool a little more than I used to, but I also don't wake up with any jaw pain and my teeth haven't shown additional signs of grinding since I started using a guard.

I just don't think your going to find some alternative answer to stopping tooth grinding.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Way I see it, this started at some point so it should be able to be stopped. There must be a psychological trigger and there must be a way to turn that off. Going to try to look into the meditation stuff, and also working out more, that is suppose to help relieve stress. I'm thinking even though I don't nececerily FEEL stressed, I must have some stress subconsciously that I need to take care of. I may look at seeing a naturopath to see if they have any tips. I think a doctor would just try to prescribe me something, and being on medication for rest of my life is probably worse than dealing with the mouth guard health wise. Basically I need to fix the problem not just work around it.

I will call the dentist to see if the mouthguard can be modified too. Like does it really need to be that thick, maybe they have thinner versions or can modify this one. If they trim a couple mm off the bottom at least and maybe reshape it so there's less excess material. Would be nice to at very least get it to a point where my mouth can close fully and get lips to seal. I could maybe get used to it then. Though I still want to fix the actual problem long term so I'm not stuck with this forever.