Are there any techniques to prevent teeth grinding at night?

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah some nights are better than others, if I go to bed late and I'm already tired it's easier to fall asleep with it. But when I have to go to bed early and I'm not tired like last night I could not handle it as I was not tired enough. It's the back part mostly that's bugging me now, I might try to shave off more material and see if it helps. Basically it starts to activate the gag reflex after a while, but it's just overall uncomfortable. Still want to fix the issue so I don't need it but I will try to wear it until I get to the point of figuring out how to fix the issue as I don't want to cause damage to my teeth either. I'm kinda hoping CBD oil will work as that is natural, it's just kinda expensive so if I do end up having to take it every night I'll want to learn to make my own. But before I go that route I'll see what options doctor gives me, just going to wait for lockdown to be over as it will be easier to see a doctor then.

I briefly read on some form of shock therapy that supposedly trains your body to stop doing it as well, not sure how it works but basically it's electrodes that go on your forehead and give you a shock to wake you up if it happens. It would make for a terrible sleep but could use it on nights where I don't work the day after. I guess after a while it would train the body to stop doing it. Not sure if it actually works though. Willing to try anything at this point.

 

[Gardener]

@Red Squirrel

Several month ago I had a conversation with my dentist who reported that her patients have been experiencing more stress-related dental problems (thanks Covid), including clenching, grinding, and breaking teeth. It seems possible that stress reduction, especially before going to bed, may help. I don't think that going to going to bed late, when you are really tired, is the ticket for reducing stress. Try cutting out screen time an hour before bed. I have had success using guided breathing exercises (about 10 minutes), or guided progressive muscle relaxation (about 30 minutes) to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety every night before going to bed.

In my case, my tinnitus has been flaring up for the past 3 months, and I think it is connected to a TMJ issue, as I am experiencing some jaw pain. I'm addressing that with an ENT and plan to do so with my dentist at the next visit. I've also begun using a Marsona 1288a sound generator, they one the VA gives to vets who have a difficulty sleeping due to tinnitus. All of us (my wife and dog included) find we sleep better using it on a very low setting, the entire night.

 

[chane]

13-16mm thick (like if you measure the outside part) 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.

Bruxing (tooth grinding) can be triggered while sleeping for many reasons: Among the most common are daytime psychological stressors that get expressed while sleeping. Also, one or more things that may impede your breathing; even being somewhat overweight can do that or the firmness or other qualities of your mattress. Any mental or physical disturbance if impeding your breathing long enough can involuntarily trigger bruxing to get your body to move or do whatever to clear your airways.

Few people learn this stuff unless they've been bruxing for years; at least
20 years in my case. Do NOT risk getting a mouthful of cracked teeth from bruxing! Go to the dentist your healthiest friends or relatives use and ask to have a nightguard MOLDED to your teeth. AND you want a rubbery guard NOT the old fashioned hard plastic one which I promise you will somehow forget to wear. Be sure to ask the dentist if a plastic gel mold is taken to then make a SOFT rubber nightguard. If the dentist says it will be a hard plastic one find another dentist!

The BEST technique is when the dentist sticks a big wad of quickly solidifying plastic gel in your mouth while you hold your upper and lower teeth closed-AND remaining perfectly still. The hardened gel is removed and from it the lab will have your soft rubber nightguard ready for you in a couple weeks. https://berryhilldentistrypc.com/ It was $350. from Dr. Schmitz, my dentist for 25 years. Depending on your insurance it may cost much less out of pocket. Keep it clean and it will last practically forever. No more cracked or broken teeth, sore jaws, earaches, headaches, et al. DON'T wait!

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah I really need to figure out how to make it stop as it seems to be getting worse. The mouth guard in a way makes it worse as it more or less forces my teeth together but at least it stops the damage... It was molded from my teeth as mentioned but it's a hard plastic. Issue is the mouth guard is only a bandage solution it does NOT stop the clenching from happening. I wake up with such a sore jaw and when I eat I have teeth squeeking against each other because I think the clenching is also making my jaw misaligned. When the lockdown ends I will see a doctor to see what my options are to actually make it stop. Even if I have to go on some medications or something I will. I wonder if they can even remove muscle mass from the jaw to weaken it so it does not clench as hard, at very least. I could then go on muscle relaxants for a few months to give it time to heal. I'm pretty sure this is causing me TMJ issues and now that you mention it I think I do have mild tinnitus on the same side so I wonder if it's all related.

I don't FEEL stressed but I think it is passive, just with everything going on, it builds up inside. I am not really affected by the pandemic but I think that passive worry of what the future holds etc is still present. I will need to look into some "destress" methods as mentioned. Tried taking more viatmin D, B and bunch of other stuff but it's not really helping. Now that I managed to keep the guard on at night I think it's only made the problem worse. I will keep using it to protect my teeth but it's not really a viable long term thing, I still need to figure out how to make it stop. I know it's still happening because I sometimes even catch it happen right as I fall asleep and it will wake me right up.

 

[Red Squirrel]

This has only been getting worse. I think the guard does not help. Sure it helps protect the teeth but then it just makes the problem even worse since it's such a big obstruction to my comfort and sleep. Now both sides of my jaw are in pain and the muscles feel very twitchy, when I'm chewing it will randomly slam the teeth together. Really terrible.

Ordered some CBD oil for pickup and I'll go pick that up and I will try it. I want to try it in the day just to see what effect it has on me since it does have a bit of THC as well. If there are no ill effects I'll start taking it at night to see if it helps.

I have an appointment with my doctor in about a month, I really hope there is something that can be done, I don't want to live with this forever.

 

[Red Squirrel]

So I started on the cbd oil, I take 0.3ml before bed for now and will up dosage as needed, but this stuff is not cheap so trying to see what the optimal dose is without taking more than I need. Ended up going with this one based on CBD content and price so I may still need to experiment further.

https://v3.dutchie.com/embedded-menu/sessions-cannabis-timmins/product/cbd-reign-drops-30ml

It's kind of early to tell as this may just be placebo at this point but it feels like it's working, I woke up and my jaw was not as sore and swollen as it normally is. I still get the twitchyness though where my teeth randomly slam together, so I have a feeling I probably still am clenching but maybe it's not as hard. Chewing in the day also feels more natural now instead of my teeth rubbing and squeaking and doing weird stuff. Today was my first meal in a while where chewing did not feel so horrible.

If this stuff really works at least it will offer some relief but ultimately I still need to figure out a way to make it stop completely without relying on any form of drug or aid. Though worse case scenario I think it's possible to get CBD in prescription form (cheaper than buying myself) so if that's the case then so be it. If it can stop me from needing the mouth guard and it's still natural, then it's probably the best bet.

Still early to tell if it's really helping though so won't call it a victory yet.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah so don't think the CBD is helping. Just coincidence I think that the first day I used it I just had a better night. The issue is growing worse and worse, and now it's spread the the whole mouth. I can barely eat it hurts too much. My jaw wants to default to being closed so it's hard to open my mouth and it hurts when I do. Randomly get twitches where my teeth slam together as well. I also catch it sometimes when I fall asleep as it will wake me. As soon as I fall asleep it clenches 100% with max strength. This is all horrible and making life suck.

I will try stronger CBD, but it's more expensive so I did not go with that one right away. Been taking Advil a lot too as it at least makes the pain go away so I can eat a meal in the day. But I really don't want to be stuck having to rely on pain killers all the time as that is just a bandage, like the mouth guard is. I need to actually make it stop.

I really hope there is something my doctor will be able to do but everything I read about this seems to indicate there is no real cure. Botox can provide some temporary relief, but it's only temporary. Worse case scenario I guess I will just need to keep getting that done. There are some not so nice long term effects though such as it affecting the bones after a while.

Worse part is they say this can be caused by stress, well this is actually what is stressing me out more than anything right now.

 

[Red Squirrel]

This has only gotten worse. Went to the ER yesterday since I just could not take the pain. They gave me muscle relaxants and pain meds but I think there's just so much jaw damage done at this point none of it is helping. I can't eat anything since it just hurts too much. Even soup, anything like noodles hurts too much. I'm at a loss here on how to make this stupid thing just stop. I want a normal nights sleep withing the stupid clenching for 8 hours straight. Might need to get my hands on opioids or something I don't want to live like this anymore.

 

[sandorski]

Damn, if it's that bad you need them.

 

[Red Squirrel]

So I setup appointment with Chiropractor and Physiotherapist. Still on pain meds and muscle relaxants. Hard to tell if it's helping or not. Still in lot of pain but I can somewhat eat solid foods now, mostly soft things. Was able to eat Easter dinner, turkey and ham was a little painful but I was able to do it. Between the pain and the mouthguard it makes it very hard to sleep though so I've been having pretty crappy sleep quality in the past week or so since it started to get worse. But my sleep in general has been crap ever since I started to wear the mouth guard. In a way I feel the guard might be making it worse as even when conscious I'm always biting down on it by default since it takes up whatever space is left between my teeth when they are relaxed and the general discomfort just makes me want to bite it. But then if I don't wear it until I fix this issue I'll destroy my teeth.... stuck between a rock and a hard place basically.

I really hope I can get to the bottom of this and make it stop completely so that I don't need the mouth guard at all. It's terrible trying to sleep with that thing. I will get my doc to send me for a sleep study as well to see if it's a sleep related issue that's causing it. I kinda hope it is as at least it's something that should be fixable, but on the other hand, I'm kind of worried I'll end up stuck with a cpap machine... I really hope that won't be the case. I hope it's something that can just be fixed with surgery.

Very worse case scenario though I rather have a cpap then a mouth guard, at least the cpap is on the outside of the body so it's less intrusive. Or even worse case is needing both... Really hope that does not happen, I really don't want my sleep situation to be that crippled. So many obstructions to comfort that it's beyond ridiculous at that point. Downside of cpap is I won't be able to grow a beard anymore.

 

[Stiff Clamp]

I'll preface this by noting I haven't had spasms myself, and I see you're already taking magnesium. Good idea. Though I don't think magnesium oxide is well absorbed.

I'd try Bluebonnet Liquid Calcium Magnesium Citrate with Vitamin D3. All three blended nutrients synergize to aid absorption. Calcium is calming to the nerves. And you want to ingest magnesium with calcium at a specific ratio. You're body prefers a specific ratio (which I'd have to look up).

Of course there's various OTHER forms of magnesium, because it's usually bonded with something to aid absorption. Your body would handle each differently.
E.g. magnesium malate (bonded with malic acid), magnesium threonate (penetrates the brain better), magnesium glycinate (bonded with glycine), even magnesium taurate (bonded with taurine for extra brain relaxment)

 

[Red Squirrel]

So I had my doctor appointment today. He suggested physio, which I already made appointment for, also mention that my dentist is probably the best place to go for further treatment, but he also is getting me a sleep study and sending me for bloodwork. I also have a chiropractor appointment, for what it's worth. Never actually been to one at all, so I suppose it can't hurt as this has made my whole body very stiff.

As for the pain it's better today, it's at a point where the pain killers are helping, while a few days ago it was just too intense for the pain killers to even work.

But yeah at least I have some potential avenues to look into this further now. I just hope in the end the fix is non invasive and I don't need to be stuck with any kind of contraptions on/in my body for the rest of my life.

 

[Red Squirrel]

So been seeing a chiropractor and physiotherapist to try to get this under control. Chiro is working on straightening me more, as I'm a bit out of place in some spots, while physio is helping me with different exercises, doing electrode acupuncture etc...

Also had a sleep study done a few days ago, won't get results for a while though. That was rather interesting...



I also wanted to be off the meds for that study so I weaned off for a few days before. I'm not on meds anymore and unfortunately it does seem to be coming back. I don't think it ever went away but between the muscle relaxants and pain killers it seems I was waking up with much less pain. Now I'm waking up with pain again. Been doing my physio exercises multiple times a day to try to make it better.

The pain is a bit different as well and not making it hard to chew like it originally was, so there's that.

Got blood work to get done tomorrow. From this point hopefully something comes up and I can put this to an end sooner rather than later.

Also went back on CBD oil but not sure how much it's helping. I may try to buy some stronger one, may even experiment with THC, but that's a slippery slope as I think THC can actually aggravate it more.

The meds I was on are not meant to be long term so I want to avoid going back on those. It was making me very sleepy and my vision a bit blurry.

 

[Scarpozzi]

G

Skip to 5:50....Teeth are a SOURCE OF DISEASE!!!!

 

[Gardener]

@Red Squirrel Have you tried sleeping on a chair-recliner? Or varying your sleep schedule? Maybe 2 sleep periods with a period of wakefulness in between.

 

[Torn Mind]

Electrode acupuncture is a waste of time. Bandbaid grade. There is the off chances this is muscular stress and tightness, and trigger point therapy could help, even if only for improving general well being.

 

[Red Squirrel]

The muscles are definitely tight, which probably causes the clenching, and the clenching causes the muscles to be tight. It's a feedback loop. Need to figure out how to break it. Waiting for sleep lab results and blood work, hopefully something comes out from those.

I heard botox can help too, I may try that next. It's temporary but it may be enough to break the feedback loop.

I'm out of CBD oil, going to get stronger stuff next.

I feel everything I'm doing might be helping, but really, it's hard to know 100% if it's doing it or not since it happens when I'm sleeping. I basically gauge by if I wake up with stiffness and pain or not.

There's one thing for sure, I cannot stand having to wear the mouth guard and I really hope I can get to a point where I don't need it anymore. Some nights I just ditch it since it's just too uncomfortable.

 

[Torn Mind]

The muscles are definitely tight, which probably causes the clenching, and the clenching causes the muscles to be tight. It's a feedback loop. Need to figure out how to break it. Waiting for sleep lab results and blood work, hopefully something comes out from those.

I heard botox can help too, I may try that next. It's temporary but it may be enough to break the feedback loop.

I'm out of CBD oil, going to get stronger stuff next.

I feel everything I'm doing might be helping, but really, it's hard to know 100% if it's doing it or not since it happens when I'm sleeping. I basically gauge by if I wake up with stiffness and pain or not.

There's one thing for sure, I cannot stand having to wear the mouth guard and I really hope I can get to a point where I don't need it anymore. Some nights I just ditch it since it's just too uncomfortable.

My self technique is quite simply. Thumb pressure to a tender spot, gradually and for 10+ seconds. If the muscles is tighted, it was start vibrating or "popping".

I would expect your jaw muscle to have a few spots since bruxism is muscles being worked really hard.

 

[Torn Mind]

 

[Red Squirrel]

I have a PT who has been getting me to do various exercises like those.

These days I find the pain is not affecting my ability to eat anymore, but it's definitely still there. It's not so much a pain, but a similar feeling as to when you are frozen at the dentist but without the numbness, it's just this constant "bloatyness" of the mouth/cheeks.

Going to keep doing what I'm doing but if it does not improve within the next month or so, I will inquire about botox, that may be the next logical step at this point. Not sure how that works from a medical standpoint though, I hope it can be covered under insurance since I'd be doing it for a medical reason and not cosmetic. But even if I have to pay for it, I suppose it's worth a shot. Downside is it's only temporary, but if I can get the jaw back to normal, maybe it will break the feedback loop and the clenching will stop, and if it stops, it will stay in good shape instead of being tense all the time from the clenching. The tenseness is causing the clenching, and the clenching is causing the tenseness. I think that is what is happening.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Ditched the mouth guard, could not stand it anymore, and it was making it worse anyway. I always woke up with more pain on nights I put it on. Still fighting this, some nights are worse than others, but luckly it seems it's only clenching and not grinding, grinding is what is very hard on teeth. Clenching is bad too but it's not as bad. On bad nights I will wake up with dental pain, probably the same kind of pain people with braces get, as pushing down on teeth for 8 hours straight is probably actually moving them slightly. Mouth guard won't really help against that anyway as there is still going to be lot of pressure, but I guess it would be spread out more evenly.

I sometimes I wake up to it starting. The clenching seems to start immediately as soon as I fall asleep, the teeth slam together very hard, then that wakes me up. I try to put my tongue there but part of me is worried I literally bite it right off. But I don't think it would stay anyway as I need to actively hold it so it would relax and fall out as soon as I fall asleep.

What I need is some kind of thin rubber membrane that can just go over the teeth, that would offer protection without being super obstructive. Though any kind of foreign object in the mouth is going to cause lot of saliva which is part of the issue with the mouth guard. Was starting to get stomach issues because of all the saliva I was swallowing.

Going to find out results of sleep study this week so I kind of hope something comes up with a simple cure, I just hope it's not something that requires a cpap, but instead surgery. If I can get surgery that fixes this, that will be the least invasive thing as once I recover it's over and I can sleep normally without anything obstructive in or on me.

Been reducing cofee to 1-2 cups per day, some days none, but honestly I don't think that's the issue. Just doing it as precaution.

If none of this helps, I'm going to try to see if there is some kind of human study of sorts going on, apparently this is a growing issue for lot of people, maybe there's actually doctors or scientists working on this or something. I'd gladly volunteer to be on any kind of trials to study this more especially if it can lead to a cure. I wonder if there's any link with this and covid-19.

 

[Red Squirrel]

So I just got some really bad news from the sleep clinic. Looks like I have sleep apnea. I had a really bad feeling it was that but at same time was kind of in denial. I snore a lot so it made me realize that's probably a bad sign.

I don't remember all the details since it was over the phone and nothing is in writing but basically my sleep quality is 60%, and I wake up a lot even though I don't actually remember it, then he broke down everything else and basically all stats were really bad. I'm going to be stuck with a cpap machine for the rest of my life. There is a surgery, but it only lasts for 1 year, then you need the machine anyway. I always figured the surgery for that was permanent. There's another option involving a special mouth guard but that sounds pretty horrible, even worse than the cpap, and it's like over 2 grand. Then I have the option of just doing nothing, but basically this will shorten my life span from what I was told.

I suppose the bittersweet good news is this will hopefully solve the teeth clenching issue, as it was probably being caused by the sleep apnea itself as I did read sleep apnea can cause it and doctor did agree it can be a cause. I suppose if I had to pick between cpap or mouth guard, the cpap is a bit less invasive since at least it's not going in my mouth. I always thought there was a tube that had to go down your throat for those but from what doctor said it's just a mask that goes over the nose and tube goes to machine. Either way really disappointed that this is going to be my fate now. I'm having a hard time coping with the idea and processing this. I'm suppose to get a call for more details so now I just wait I guess.

 

[sdifox]

It's your cat trying to suffocate you.

 

[ptthomas]

There is a surgery, but it only lasts for 1 year, then you need the machine anyway.

Can't you repeat the surgery after 1 year?

 

[Red Squirrel]

Can't you repeat the surgery after 1 year?

I suppose so, but don't know if I want to go through that every year for the rest of my life or if they would even let me. They really discourage the surgery so I think after a few years they'd probably say sorry, not doing it anymore. There might be some ill effects of having it done so many times too.

At this point I just hope that the cpap does make the clenching stop and that it's something that won't be too hard to get used to. And hopefully in the future they might come up with a better surgery that lasts for life. Kind of like when I had glasses I could not stand it but as LASIK tech got better, I decided to get it done.