Any ideas to reduce or stop teeth grinding??!!

[seriouslynonames]

I find myself clenching my jaw a lot while I'm working. Work is busy and stressful and I'm working on covid response stuff, from home, with one school age and one pre-school child, plus husband also working from home. So it's all a bit messy and tricky to manage. I then find I grind my teeth in my sleep and wake up feeling exhausted rather than rested. I am not consciously doing it and I don't know how to stop - my teeth are going to have no enamel left soon enough. Any ideas for reducing/stopping clenching/grinding?! Thank you!

It’s linked to anxiety, so destressing is the key you can gently massage the joint and try face stroking. It’s called bruxism and a mouth guard can help but guessing a decent one made by a dentist is out of the question currently. I know there are some make at home kits where you mould them to your teeth but have no idea if ok or a waste of money. I was a dental nurse when young and the dentist pointed out it was a condition women suffered from far more than men.

I've got a little mould thing I wear over my bottom middle 2 teeth at night. I only grind at night luckily. It works very well, and I actually find I sleep better! Did cost a couple of hundred though!

I used to do the jaw clenching all the time up until a few months ago!

Was an awful habit I couldn't get out of until I got Invisalign braces, I barely ever do it now and even if I do, I have the braces mould in which makes the world of difference!

I would definitely recommend getting a mouth guard or the equivalent!

I’ve got one of those. Cost about £90 from the dentist and worth every penny.

I grind at night but when stressed through the day.
Dentist made me a guard I wear at night but also during day when it’s bad. It fits on lower teeth and you can’t really notice it.
I also have amitriptyline to take of an evening to stop me getting headaches caused by grinding.

Should say it costs me £70 from my dentist.

Thank you all - sounds like I need to prioritise a trip to the dentist once they are allowed to open again!
I will try some relaxation stuff before bed to see if it helps - I sometimes get a headache from it too. Argghhh stressful times all round!

I've got a mouth guard from the dentist too. It really helped with headaches and face aches! I don't wear it all the time, just when I feel I need it. It might be worth trying either one of the one size fits all ones, or one of the home moulding kits as a short term measure though?

if you can buy anything online it will be worth a go, and yes go to the dentist as soon as they reopen.

mouthguard top tip - buy the denture cleaning tablets, the ones that come in a tube, and soak it in those during the day. (Half a tablet is enough). They are hard to get clean and if you don't do this, you'll probably wake up in the middle of the night coughing and with a filthy taste in your mouth.

oh, the glamour...

Mine has started since I increased dosage of some meds - waiting for a mouth guard I bought online

This is worth trying. I definitely find an improvement after listening for about 20 mins.

I hate to be a naysayer but I’ve got a mouth guard for this exact reason, it protects my teeth from damage but does sweet FA to stop me grinding my teeth or clenching my jaw.

@Budapestpest I have to say the same. I have already eaten through one mouth guard

I suffer so much as a result of this. Daily teeth and facial pain, a broken tooth, and a bridge that feels like it's failing at the moment.

I am hoping to try Botox in the masseter muscles when things reopen after covid.

When I first had the mouth guard I was so full of hope but in my heart of hearts I doubted it would do anything. Why would something small between by teeth stop me clenching my jaw? And sadly it didn’t. A mouth guard won’t stop the muscle tension that’s causing the jaw to clench. It just clenches over the guard. I fear Botox is the only other way, short of having a massage every night to relax me before I go to bed but I live on my own so that’s not going to happen. I can’t go on like this though I have headache jaw ache face ache shoulder and neck ache every day and it’s a cycle then I cannot break as then I go to bed tense and in pain which causes me to clench even more

Thomas Hall hypnosis on youtube. He has one that you listen to overnight and you are 95% fast aslerp but 5% is listening to him

He calls his channel "minds in unison" now

I have a "proper" dentist mouthguard but also one you boil and fit yourself, and that's obviously not as good as the proper one but it's fine as a stopgap. I think the one I got was about £12 from Amazon. Can't remember the name of the brand but there were a few on there and the one I got had good reviews.
Agree with the poster above who says it protects your teeth rather than stopping you grinding. Apparently amitriptyline can help stop the habit, if it's a long-term issue, if you ask your GP.

god my face right now really hurts, i can't stop clenching

I clench my teeth when I'm asleep. I bought a SleepRight Dura Comfort Dental Guard from Amazon. It cost around £45. It has really helped. I broke a tooth through clenching before I bought the Guard, but haven't had any problems since.

Thanks all. Right am going to get something online to at least protect my teeth, even if it doesn't stop the grinding /clenching. I will def look into relaxation stuff and massage. This has been a short term problem for me in the past but it's now pretty permanent so I need to make some changes. Sorry to hear so many of you are also struggling with this, thank you for sharing xx

How is everyone now ? X