Clenching teeth

[Squaddielife]

Hi All
I think I have formed a bad habit that mostly im unaware of. For several months I have been suffering with jaw pain (mainly on the right). Along with this I get pain in my ear (sometimes thobbing), headaches and pain in the base of my skull on the right.
My dentist has done a full exam/xrays and my teeth are find but he wondered if I was clenching my teeth in my sleep and I think he might be right. I dont habitually grind my teeth so there's so sign of this though.

Does anyone have any ideas how I can stop this? I am thinking of getting a mouth guard but they seem to be geared towards preventing grinding rather than clenching. Does anyone use a mouth guard for clenching & can recommend a good one?

Thanks

I think mouth guards are more for grinding.

My osteopath sorted mine out (special massage to relax the jaw muscles). Cost £100 for two appointments

Are you stressed or anxious at the moment? That’s what makes me do it. I was prescribed slow release propranolol which is a beta blocker that helps quite a lot. I try to take slow deep breaths every hour and drop my lower jaw, then massage either side.

I have a mouth guard for nighttime clenching. It's called a Michigan Splint and is made of hard perspex stuff. The usual moulded rubber ones encourage clenching whereas the splint redistributes the pressure across all teeth.
They cost a fortune (approx £600) but I wish I'd had my mine made 30 years ago when it was first suggested. I've clenched so hard on one side that I cracked a tooth and eventually lost it (after clenching through a crown then a crowned root canal)