Grinding Teeth...HELP PLEASE?

Question

Help I am a terrible 'grinder' not only at night but also in the day. I am under a lot of stress just now and the grinding is so bad I have a sore neck, head pain, dizzyness and sore jaw and teeth. Also my face aches a lot, how can I control this?? I am wrecking my teeth and they are becoming really sensitive I ma becoming miserable because of this and MORE anxious...HELP

Answer 1

Twenty percent of adults grind their teeth at night. Grinding (bruxism) can be caused by stress or an unconscious attempt to smooth out a poor bite. It wears down and may fracture teeth, and it can lead to gum and jaw problems.


Steps:
1. Make an appointment with your dentist, who will make a custom mouthpiece for you to wear at night. This will prevent further damage to your teeth and may reduce your tendency to grind.

2. Ask your dentist to file down your "high spots," which are any teeth that interfere with a comfortable, aligned bite.

3. Hold a warm, damp cloth next to your face for 10 minutes before you go to bed to help calm your jaw muscles.

4. Relax before bedtime by meditating, taking a hot bath or stretching.

5. Reduce alcohol and caffeine consumption.

6. Learn to reduce stress. Take stress management classes and learn relaxation techniques.

Tips:
Researchers are investigating the use of periodic injections of botulinum toxin (BTX) to treat severe teeth grinding. Ask your dentist for more information if you're interested.

Answer 2

Stress is the reason you're grinding your teeth and having problems with your neck, head and jaw. There are two things you need to do...

1. See your dentist and have a mouth guard made to prevent further damage to your teeth.

2. See your physician and explain the stress you are under as well as the other problems you are experiencing due to you grinding your teeth. He/she may have to give you a prescription for a muscle relaxant as well as something to help alleviate your anxiety.

I'm not sure what your stress is related to, but perhaps seeing a therapist might be in order. Many times talking about your problems and working them out with a good therapist helps a great deal.

I've worked in the health care field for many years and have seen this problem a lot. Don't allow the stress you are under to control your life or your health, it's not worth it.

Good luck!!

Answer 3

Well since you already acknowledge that you are under a lot of stress, you should get rid off some of your stressors and that will help the problem. I was also a day and night grinder and I got rid of a lot of my stress and now I don't have that problem. You can relieve your stress by, going for a long walk, playing video games (if you enjoy it), exercise, stretching, yoga, talking through your day with someone that will just listen and not give advice, write out what is bothering you in a journal, if you have a stressful job then you can write all the things that needs to be done and when you will accomplish them, to get it out of your head, if it is your family then you should never fight before going to bed, think of happy thoughts before going to sleep or watch a comedy show before bed time. I hope I helped. If I did give me 10 points please.

Answer 4

I would say go see the doc and talk to him/her about anti-stress meds. If you don't like pills, try chamomile tea - or think about what is stressing you so much and do something to change it.

For night time grinding, there are mouthpieces - expensive ones at the dentist, but you can always buy one of those moldable sports mouthpieces at the store for the short-term...

Still, the only true and lasting solution is to identify and eliminate (or reduce) the source of your stress...

Answer 5

to help with your teeth, at least at night, if you don't have like a bite plate, go to a sporting goods store and get a football mouthpiece... follow the instructions to fit it to your mouth and use that at night... I hate encouraging anyone to use drugs, but you may want to see a psychiatrist for something to help you relax (at least at night)... another thing -- you need to work on de-stressing, and there are many ways. Some stress just can't be removed, it's always there, but there are different ways of dealing with stressors (yoga, martial arts, meditating, even a warm bath when you feel "overwhelmed") and sometimes we put stressors on ourselves that don't need to be there... if you are under this much stress, the PTA for instance, or volunteering, while noble things, just might be too much for you until you have learned to deal with stress better and gotten past this point... Lastly, sometimes people get stressed and then allow every single thing in life to stress them, like making a bowl of cereal (oh my gosh, i just don't have time for this, blah blah... ) and learning how to correctly put things in order of importance and then just doing what can be done and letting the rest handle itself (yes, hard to do) can help us be more productive and even though there are as many stressors, help us experience less stress. At any rate, you should see a psychiatrist (to see if anti-anxiety meds are called for)and possibly a counselor or at least get a book or two on removing stress. good luck and remember, "everything is as it should be" -- keep repeating... lol and try to laugh more, if you can with the mouth/neck pain... :-)

Answer 6

I have the same problem but not as bad as you do. I have tried useing a mouth piece at night, but all that made me do was gag or if I didn't gag then I would wake up the next morning trying to find it in my bed. I am going to talk to my dentist I am sure that he can help me some how.

Answer 7

There are guards you can buy to wear while your sleeping, I have woke my self up grinding mine, and I have never used one, but, you can get some anxiety medication and it might help.

Answer 8

See your dentist.
I wear a mouth guard at night. Not the sports ones, but one the dentist made. Thin plastic, and once you get used to it, it is fine.

Answer 9

Find a TMJ specialist to fit you for a mouth brace for bedtime.

Answer 10

the have mouth gaurds that your dentist can get for you, expect to pay about $100.00, there are ones in mail order catalogs, but I don't know how beneficial they are