Clenching jaw when sleeping, help!

[FiftyNotNifty]

Hi, could anyone advise on how to stop this?! Particularly busy /stressful time recently, lots of shallow sleeping where the worries of the day get rehashed in my brain. I seem to have started kind of clenching my jaw,it's like I'm thrusting the lower jaw forward. It's sore when I wake up! And it just can't be good for me. Has anyone had experience of this? Thank you!

Same here so interested in hearing the replies. Jaw/head is sore!

Reduce caffeine, don't use chewing gums.
See a dentist, you may need a night guard, this will prevent you from cracking your teeth

Its called bruxism. Speak to your dentist about a moulded mouth guard to wear at night.

DH said I was grinding my teeth in my sleep years ago when I had a very stressful job. The mouthguard helped alot. I eventually left that job and haven't done it since!

I used to do this and have TMJ dysfunction now which is painful. Mine stopped when my stress calmed down but you can get mouth guards from dentist I think

I do this and my teeth are very worn down (years of practice!) You can buy a silicone mouth guards on Amazon if you can’t afford a dentist straight away. Put in a glass of hot water then put it in a mould to your mouth.

for me it’s a sign of stress so I try and do all the things I know I like yoga, exercise, gardening etc

I had this during a very stressful year and considered a mouth guard, but it turns out some dentists don’t recommend them. There is a view that they can actually make things worse if the fit isn’t absolutely perfect — and getting it absolutely perfect is not easy and can cost a lot of money.

My dentist strongly encouraged me to try and reduce stress before doing anything else. And when I did manage to do that, the problem completely went away. It required big background life changes, but they were ones I knew to be necessary anyway.

I've used tooth guards for over 20 years

I'm on my sixth one - I've chewed through the rest.

It fits over my bottom teeth and protects them. It doesn't stop the grinding

The diy moulds are rubbish, worth it to get it properly fitted by a dentist.

Another clencher here. I get a new night guard once a year, made by my dentist.

Thank you so much! I've never ever done this before, so strange. I don't think I grind my teeth, just seem to be really tensing/pushing out my lower jaw. So sore!

I have night guard from the dentist, annoyingly keeps telling me to avoid clenching/grinding like am aware of doing it to stop!
It's common side effect of SSRI/anti depressants

Night guards are for clenching too, not just for grinding. Grinders tend to wear down their teeth, dentists spot this. Clenchers crack their teeth, can be harder for dentists to spot you do it.

Mouth guard from the dentist. Pricey but worth every penny.

I have a mouth guard from the dentist and have also had Botox in my masseter muscles (the jaw muscles). Hurt a lot but I have seen some benefit.

I had Botox and it’s helped a lot.

I did this during lockdown! I found 2 trips to the acupuncture clinic really helped me kick the habit.

I guess this is what I do. I have a mouth guard from the dentist. It's flipping expensive and I've nearly chomped through it. I'd love to know if there's a way of doing a DIY version online.

The non-moulded ones sound like the hockey mouth guards we used to have at school. A bit rubbish?

DD and I both had this, and prior to trying a mouthguard, the dentist gave us both some jaw exercises to try. They really helped DD. I thought they helped a bit, but it turned out I have bigger problems.

The exercise was for "tempero mandibular joint dysfunction. I just googled TMJ exercises and the link below is the same exercise I was given (although the rest of the leaflet is a little different - mine was more about clenching and grinding).

TMJ Exercises - Oxford University Hospitals www.ouh.nhs.uk/patient-guide/leaflets/files/12128Ptmj.pdf