Clenching Jaw

[Deleted member 1860]

I've been clenching and grinding since I was a young child, I'm guessing since when all of the trauma started.

I need to find a dentist who handles TMJ to have a guard made, but its not like I have a fire under my arse to do so. All of the drugstore guards I've tried in the past have made the clenching pain worse, so I'm not sure if I want to shell out $500 for something that may not work at all. (I don't have dental insurance.) I used to wake up with my teeth misaligned! Yeah, that's how bad those guards were for me. It would take half the day for my teeth to get back into position.

Do you have TMJ? I have a lot of tension in my jaw and it goes down my neck. Its all related to trauma-trauma and head trauma over the years. I have a home medics neck massager that I bought for $3 at the local mission thrift store. That baby gives me more relief in 10 minutes than the 3 months I spent in physical therapy. (And we all know how pricey those sessions are!) I also have an ultrasonic massager that works well, too. (They used one in PT on me years ago.) Sometimes I use heat packs on my neck and they help. (Cold packs just lock up everything and increase the pain.)

 

[sun seeker]

I found this on acupressure for grinding teeth:
Link Removed

 

[joeylittle]

Manually massaging the jaw will actually make a big difference over a few weeks, if you can be good about doing it 3-5 times a day for 5-10 minutes. You'll want to go gently at first, to see how much pressure you can tolerate - but just keep working at those muscles right around the jaw 'hinge' (on the outside, of course). For many people these muscles are habitually knotted, and while its not the cause of grinding or TMJ, loosening them will greatly diminish the clenching reflex.

Otherwise, it's mouth guard - I could never tolerate it either.

Oh - and definitely don't chew gum.

 

[girlscout]

I was just thinking about seeing who on here had an issue with this. I catch myself doing it mostly during the day time. Over time the clenching has cause my jaw to pop a lot and it used to get stuck a bit. I'm going to try putting more effort into massaging the jaw a few times a day. But at the end of the day for me it will need to be mind over matter and when I catch myself doing it, instead of letting myself continue because it takes out my frustration or anxiety, stopping the behaviour no matter how good the clenching makes me feel.

 

[shimmerz]

My apologies, I lost track of this posting somehow.

Kismet - TMJ makes sense to me. Not sure if I would actually have that diagnosis but I do get wound up for certain. I appreciate the thoughts JL, of massaging the jaw. I will make that part of my self care routine.

I mean seriously, clenching would actually lead to tightness in the jaw as well right? I am also practicing by clenching on and off on the other side of my jaw to see if that will relieve a bit of the 'habit' that may have formed.

Acupressure is a fantastic idea Sun! Why didn't I think of these things! See? This is why I hang out here. I have really smart friends here! Thank you all very much!

 

[Chava]

I've noticed myself doing this more lately which bugs the crap out of me because I think it might be connected to my medication, gabapentin, which is actually helping me relax and soothe nerve pain. Or maybe it's just a coincidence.

If you notice, maybe just let your teeth hang open and let your jaw be lose. In Zen meditation we are instructed to keep our teeth together lightly. Maybe my mouth is just weird, but there is no middle ground. If my teeth are together, they are clenching. So if doing meditation, when I have a chance to let go of some of this, I let my teeth fall open a bit but keep my mouth closed. I figure maybe no Zen priest will notice or smack me for it. Besides I always need to break at least one rule. ;)

 

[falling_wave]

I do it a lot. I used to do it more requiring two crowns and one tooth restructured with root canal. It was so painful. The most relief I got was with sore throat numbing gel on a q tip held on the painful tooth and a heating pad on my jaw. It would practice resting my jaw by putting the tip of my tough on the roof of my mouth and relaxing my jaw. Opening your mouth wide sometimes helps stretch it and massage it now and then. Ibprophen also reduces inflammation. At one point I was taking ibprophen and tylenol every four hours. I think the best way to stop is recognize it and stop yourself repeatedly. That could break the habit. Also reduce stress if you can because I believe that's what causes it. Check your wisdom teeth too if you still have them. If they need to be removed that caused a lot of jaw and ear pain.

 

[SophiaWisdom]

I do it a lot. I used to do it more requiring two crowns and one tooth restructured with root canal...

I am on this bandwagon: I had TMJ almost my entire life that got so severe while I was in my tough undergrad program that my jaw locked and couldn't open and I had to get meds so I could eat food again.

Since I was young 4 dentists told me to take my wisdom teeth out but I was terrified. It was the 5th one who said they were about to hit my nerves and it was an emergency that I finally did it over the age of 30 (which makes healing longer and more painful). He also said to address my TMJ by staying on my liquid diet for a whole month and taking ibuprofen (started at 800 for the surgery, then went down a little, but stayed on NSAIDS to reduce inflammation).

I WISH I HAD DONE IT SOONER.

Not only did my daily migraines go away the day I got my wisdom teeth out, but my TMJ has been gone almost forever (I get a few clicks here and there and an occasional pain flare-up but nothing as bad as my daily locking).

 

[LLMertens]

I have broken two teeth and chronic mouth pain. I am going to try the massaging. Guards dont work

 

[Cannottakethis]

I do clench a lot, and I also get migraines. I started getting Botox shots for the headaches and the last time my dr injected my jaw as well and what a difference. No more pain.