Before I get into the issue, I want to say that I have seen my own dentist recently but unfortunately she was not helpful at all, which is why I thought I would ask here (I’ll be looking for a new one in the new year after I have my impacted wisdom teeth removed under GA).
Earlier in the year when I went to see her for a check-up, she commented that it looked like I’d been grinding my teeth and that it needed to be kept on eye on (no further advice than that). A month later I was due to see the hygienist for a clean and on that morning woke up and noticed I had a small chip on one of my front teeth. She confirmed it was a new chip and proceeded to advise that I get fitted for a night guard to prevent further damage to my teeth. Saw my dentist the following month for a fitting and then started wearing it as soon as I picked it up the following week.
So I have been wearing the night guard now religiously every night since March, however I am finding I have a lot of sensitivity in my teeth, especially in two top teeth in which I have fillings and in teeth that were next to the tooth I had removed. Sometimes I get a mild shooting like pain through different teeth randomly during the day (I don’t grind during the day and I make a conscious effort to keep my teeth apart) and very recently I noticed that my front teeth and the adjacent teeth on the left side feel like they are under pressure? When I was washing my face, I noticed a feeling of pressure when pressing just next to the bottom of my nose (so the very top of my gum on the left side) too, which is obviously connected as it’s right above the affected teeth. I cannot eat anything hard using those teeth now as if I do there is so much pressure in them, it’s uncomfortable and feels like I have something stuck in between them. I also started feeling like my left front tooth was bashing into my lower teeth occasionally when I was speaking and eating, which was concerning me so wondered if I had developed a change in bite? Unfortunately, as I said, my dentist was not helpful and just advised me to make sure I was getting a good nights sleep (I do) and then questioned whether I was wearing my guard every night? I don’t think she believed me but I wear it every night without fail, I’d be too worried about not wearing it and damaging my teeth further. She then told me to continue wearing it in the mornings after I wake as well? And that was it.
So my questions are, can these kind of issues be down to grinding and if so, should they not have resolved somewhat by me wearing my night guard? Could the pressure issues be down to my sinuses instead? I was hoping she would x-ray those particular teeth but she couldn’t have been less interested if she tried! Thanks for reading and apologies about the length of the post.