So i went to the dentist today after having pretty bad pains in my jaw for sometime, and he informs me that it is caused by grinding my teeth without even knowing it, in particular while asleep, but also quite a bit during the day. Apparently it is brought on by stress and anxiety. Which would explain why the pain has been getting worse over the past few weeks, as i have been having alot more nightmares and a generally hard time with things.
He suggested that if it doesnt improve with heat packs and pain killers(which i do not want to take) i will have to wear a mouthguard type thing at night, which i am fine with, if it stops it hurting!
But one thing i cant get my head around, is how i am supposed to stop doing it even when i try all those anxiety and stress reducing techniques if i dont even know i am doing it in the first place. Ultimately i would not want to wear a mouthguard at night for the rest of my life, but i have no idea how to control it, especially when i am asleep!
As soon as i got back from the dentist i rang my counsellor, who i told i wanted to work on this when she gets back from holidays in 2 weeks, i guess thats a start to letting her know things i wanna talk about without forgetting them as soon as i get my sessions!

Like you say - you don't know you are doing it, so how do you stop doing it?

You have stated that it is caused by stress and anxiety, so these are the issues you have to address. You have answered you own question here, because you have already taken steps with your counsellor to help deal with these issues. I'm not saying it will be easy, or quick, but hopefully if you lessen the stress and anxiety, the teeth grinding will stop.

Good luck

Hi,

I grind my teeth at times, too. Has your dentist ruled out TMJ as the cause of your teeth grinding? My mother had TMJ and a dentist diagnosed me as having it, too. Just food for thought.

Best,
Rachel

I grind my teeth when sleeping. Mine is stress related. I would wake up and my teeth and jaw would ache. The best remedy for me was eliminating the stress which in turn broke the habit!

I do that too and I am having my back teeth grinded down so that my bite will be even. My dentist thinks it will help also I'm getting a mouth guard at night.
The mouth guard is suppose to retrain you at night so you don't do it???

I'm not sure if I understand how that will happen, but I have to do something because I have headaches every morning from it. Some times the pain is underneath my ear.

Tammy

I wear a rubber nightguard every night. See if your insurance will cover it, because I left mine in an airport restaurant so I had to buy a replacement nightguard for $400

They do save your teeth from cracking. We have a terrible amount of pressure in our jaws.

I have been wearing a night guard for ten years or so. I never really thought about whether I would be wearing it forever or not. I do grind alot less when I am able to handle my stress well. But in the rough spots I notice I still go right back to grinding hard.

I hope you have gotten your money's worth out of your nightguard!

I still have jaw pain when i am really upset about something , even when I use my nightguard, but at least i will still have teeth when i am 80.

OMG...funny you should post this...I have been clenching my jaw without knowing it a lot this past week! A dentist recommended a nightguard to me years ago, but I never went for it...

Wow, i didnt except every reply to consist of an 'i do that too' answer!

Since i found out ive been doing it, ive been so much more anxious to try and figure out when i am doing it to get myself to stop, which i think is just making things worse!!

Linasmom- What is TMJ?

Seeking Nirvana- Those headaches are so bad, i think i would rather just a normal toothache than a jaw clenching induced headache!

Oh dear, $400?! Thank goodness im still covered by my mums private health insurance!