Where could my dental mouthguard for TMJ be?

[fixingmylife]

Hello MNers,

I am maddened by the fact that I have misplaced a dental mouthguard, which I only collected about 3 weeks ago. I have absentmindedly put it somewhere and I have been actively looking/keeping an eye out for over 2 weeks.

(Yes I know, I have been going through a lot of stress lately and I should have put it straight back into it's box, but didn't)

I really want to find it, but think I'll have to ask for another one (and get over the embarrassment of (indadvertently) hiding it in my own house)

In the fridge?

Good one. I'll definitely have a good look there.... Such a good suggestion. Thanks

Out of interest, how much did it cost you for treatment (I've been told I have this/teeth grinding etc). I've been quoted 5K!!!

I went through the NHS. It's just a silicone mouth guard that is moulded to my top teeth. I would never pay that much, as the NHS one works. It takes a while to get used to it though. I think your option is very expensive. What exactly do you get for that?

Down the side/back of the sofa cushions. I once found a slipper had got caught up inside my duvet cover.

Perhaps you put it near your bed, bedside table and it’s fallen down the back. Or you put it in the bathroom ready to use?

Did it come in a box or bag and you’re visualising the mouth guard, forgetting you need to be looking for the box/bag. Could it be in a waste bin?

Could a pet have gone off with it?

I once put my new seed packets in a good place to wait for spring. Only found them three years later when I moved, and many were out of date!

Unfortunately, it didn't go back into it's box (that's the mistake) as I know where the box is.... I have looked all around the bed. I don't have pets. I have washed and changed my sheets twice and looked in the washing machine. I can't believe it's fallen into a bin (if it had, I think it's probably gone by now) It's just very annoying. .. But I guess these things do happen and I hope the dentist will be understanding (people must have lost them before)

I'm not sure what I will get- I went to a different dentist at my practice due to an emergency and he appears to be an expert. I know I have a problem (clicking jaw etc). He said £400 for the first consultation. I'm presuming mouth guard of some sort. My usual dentist won't make me a mouth guard. I did buy a mouldable one online but after a couple of nights of wear I kept biting my tongue/my mouth felt different.

The NHS don't apparently fund it

@Sandia1. I'm lucky with my NHS dentist as he funded mine. I suppose it could vary from practice to practice. I think what they have quoted you is excessive. Even if it's just for moulds..... but that's my opinion. I suppose if it works and you have tried other things... TMJ is hard to treat, I think.

In your dog if you have one. Yep, learnt that the expensive way.

@idontlikealdi Sadly, no dog here.... I'll keep looking around...

Under the bed?

My mouthguard is often under the bed when I can’t find it.

Other favourites:
by the side of my child’s bed (going to settle them overnight)
by the side of the spare bed (snoring keeping me awake)
on the side of the washbasin in the bathroom
in top drawer of dressing table/bedside cabinet
fallen in bedroom/bathroom bin

Oh - once it was next to the kettle, as I couldn’t sleep and went down to make a cup of tea.

And once on the piano.

really, actually thinking about it, if you’re like me and your TMJ dysfunction is due to grinding because you are stressed, and that also stops you sleeping, and you then roam the house tidying and doing jobs, it could be anywhere.

@Secnarf Absolutely my life at the moment.... :-/

I've used Plackers Grind No More for years and love them - I find them much more comfortable than a custom-made guard and they are so, so much cheaper. I clean and resuse them multiple times (I'm lazy so put them in a mesh bag when I'm doing a hot wash which may be TMI though)

This happened to me. I had put it on the bed and left the room. Came back and gave the duvet a good shake. As a result I found it in the corner of the room about a week later - hard to see as it was clear plastic. I went mad trying to find it.

In a makeup or toiletry bag? There's some sort of tired logic in putting it there. On the floor behind the toilet?

I lost one and the dentist said the #1 cause is a dog eating them.

Like you I didn't have a dog. I eventually found it wedged behind the radiator in my bedroom - god knows how it got there.

Mine was made on the NHS when I was pregnant so got it for free! Worth asking if that applies to anyone.

Mine has turned up:
Inside a pillowcase;
Dressing gown pocket;
Under the bed;
Kitchen table/near kettle;
Jeans pocket (found in wrong place, retuning to right place, but forgotten)

Inside a pillowcase
Under the bed

Don't worry, I have new ones all the time as I chew through them, at £60 each
Then the dog ate one

Every time I go he asks if I have stress chewed through my guard yet

My NHS dentist (in Wales) chrges £70 for mould and guard last time. Actually made at a private lab because the standard NHS charge is apparently higher so cheaper done privately.

One thing I would say helps is keep the storage thing on a bedside table and get in a habit of putting it there

I'm so used to it that I woke up from anaesthetic and demanded my guard so I didn't break my teeth grinding. They said I was very irate about it

On the floor behind your bedside table or on the bathroom windowsill are my suggestions (ask me how I know 😂)