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Original poster

Mouth guard kept me up all night

16 replies

cakedup · 09/05/2018 11:14

Dentist told me I grind my teeth which was news to me. Never woken up with a jaw ache or head ache or had any other problems. He gave me a mouth guard which I wore last night for the first time and it was horrible. I was aware of it all night (even dreamt about it) and could feel myself biting down on it all night. Woke up with a jaw ache for the first time ever!!

Will I get used to it? Do I really need it? My jaw is still aching.

OP posts:

Twoweekcruise · 09/05/2018 11:18

I have bruxism and have tried several guards but haven’t managed to get on with any of them. Is it a hard or soft one? I did find the soft silicone ones better but I bit down on them really hard and got through so many it was costing a fortune.

MissTulipan · 09/05/2018 15:01

I have recently had a mouth guard made for my bottom teeth as I clench my teeth in sleep (and during day sometimes!) got first few nights I took it out in my sleep, then slowly got used to it but still found it annoying. Sometimes I forget to put it on totally. It was £200 to have moulded so feel I need to stick with it and my dentist has noticed hairline fractures in my teeth from clenching.
Stick with it as I think in time it will feel more comfortable.

threesenoughthanks · 09/05/2018 15:10

Same here. It would take me ages to get to sleep when I wore mine and then I would just wake up with it in my hand. To be be honest I have given up on it and tried to focus on relaxing instead so that I don't clench my teeth.

GeorgeHerbert · 09/05/2018 18:52

Is it a top or bottom one?
I grind terribly, to the point that I have fractured teeth and also roots so I need to wear one or I would literally have no teeth left! It took a few weeks to get used to it but it's second nature now and I feel weird if I don't put it in.

Original poster

cakedup · 09/05/2018 18:54

I'm reluctant to put it in again tonight...my jaw is still aching!

I'm not sure if it's a hard or soft one Twoweekcruise I've looked up both but the same images come up. You can bend it so guess it's the soft one?

OP posts:

Original poster

cakedup · 09/05/2018 18:57

It's a bottom one. Thing is, as soon as I put it in my instinct is to chomp down on it!

OP posts:

Original poster

cakedup · 09/05/2018 18:59

GeorgeHerbert did you find yourself biting when you first wore yours?

I kept dreaming that I'd realise I wasn't meant to wear it all night long and then I'd wake up, take it out and then realise it was just a dream and I had to put it back in!

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MovingAgainOhWhy · 09/05/2018 19:36

Sounds like the soft one, you can't bend the hard one (I have had both). I have bruxism and eventually my teeth got very damaged, so I always wear mine now. It took a few months to get used to it and now I can't sleep without it! I have been wearing it every night for 7 years and it's fine now, but it does take a while to get used to it. My bruxism was quite bad though and some of my teeth got worn down so I must always wear it. I don't think night grinding and clenching is specifically related to stress (day grinding is though), 🤔 I think it may be unconscious and related to dopamine in the brain. But correct me if I am wrong!

MovingAgainOhWhy · 09/05/2018 19:36

Also I find the top ones more comfortable than the bottom ones, maybe speak to your dentist about it all

Original poster

cakedup · 09/05/2018 22:28

Maybe it is a good thing to start now then before my teeth get too damaged. I can't face wearing it tonight, I'm knackered and I've got a busy day at work tomorrow. Maybe over the weekend. When I asked the dentist about it he said teeth grinding is usually due to stress. I'm not particularly stressed about anything - just usual day to day stresses.

OP posts:

DramaAlpaca · 09/05/2018 22:34

OP, I'd agree it's a good idea to leave it for tonight and start again with it at the weekend so you've a couple of nights to get used to it.

I've worn a mouth guard for over 30 years now & I can't sleep without it.

My dentist told me I needed one aged 21 because my teeth were as worn as someone ten years older & would only get worse.

It does take a while to get used to them at first, and also when you have them replaced with a new one, but it's worth it to prevent wear & tear on your teeth.

han01uk · 09/05/2018 22:38

Stick with it if you can,you will get used to it. I would wear mine,and wake up having lobbed it across the room somewhere! Unfortunately it went in the tumble dryer in my pyjama bottom pocket and that was the end of it....

Littlefish · 09/05/2018 22:39

I wear one on my bottom teeth. It's a hard, rather than soft one. I can honestly say that I've never been bothered by it and sleep fine when wearing it.

Perhaps yours needs re-fitting a little? I had to have an appointment with my dentist to make sure it fitted properly when I first had it. It was slightly tight in one place, so he filed it down until I could wear it without pain.

Judydreamsofhorses · 10/05/2018 21:25

Another clencher here.

When I got mine I couldn’t stop gagging, and thought I would never be able to wear it - but after knackering my molars, I knew I absolutely had to. What I did was run it under the hot tap (proper hot) which seemed to soften it up a wee bit before putting it in, then wear it while watching TV, pottering online or wherever, for ten minutes, then 20 minutes, 30, and so on. Basically similar to when I got contact lenses and built up from an hour to a full day.

The first night I tried to sleep with it in I had to take it out about 2am, then I made it until about 5am, and after a few nights I was going right through. That was in July last year, and now I can’t sleep without it. I still run it under the hot tap before putting it in, but it’s just routine rather than needing to do it.

I needed mine adjusted after dental work (on those poor molars!) and the dentist polished it down in about half a minute, so if you need it tweaking it’s an easy fix.

Original poster

cakedup · 10/05/2018 21:49

I guess there's no way round it, I will have to try and get used to it. Weird thing is, ever since I wore it the other night I have been more conscious of the grinding. If you would've asked me last week if I grind/clench my teeth during the day, I would have said no. But actually I've realised I do. And what I do a lot...is to make little tunes with my teeth. Hard to explain but I play tunes by using my teeth as a kind of keyboard.

Littlefish I think it fits fine...it slots into place on my teeth quite perfectly.

Judydreamsofhorses I gag when I first put it in and when I take it out! Not pleasant but only lasts a second! I am going to do what you did, and if it wakes me in the night, I'll take it out so it doesn't stop me sleeping and then hopefully I'll get used to it and go for longer stretches until I manage a whole night.

It seems like a really archaic method of dentistry to be honest. I'm sure in the future, people will be laughing about how we had to wear mouth guards.

OP posts:

Judydreamsofhorses · 10/05/2018 22:15

You will get used to it. I was honestly using a timer on my phone in the build-up period because I couldn’t wait for it to come out. My DP kept saying “you just have to persevere” and I felt like punching him. But actually, he was right! The first time I kept it in through a whole TV programme felt like a revelation. It clicked in totally after about a week, and now even if I lie down for half an hour with a headache, it’s in.

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