What can I do to stop grinding my teeth???

Question

i have this habit of grinding my teeth. I do it unconsciously and it's starting to bother me because i've heard grinding your teeth is very bad.
what can i do to stop this habit?
thank you.

Answer 1

Stress is usually a factor in teeth grinding! If you do it when you are awake, try to be conscious about it and try to stop. If you are doing it at night, well there not much you can do to stop that! But there is a way to help to prevent damage! Having a night guard made to wear when you are a sleep! Talk to you dentist about it!

Answer 2

My longtime dentist has diagnosed me with night-time bruxism (tooth grinding and/or jaw clenching). I can't really afford a custom-made mouthguard, but I won't buy the inexpensive ones in drugstores because they're too bulky and I hate the feeling of stuff like taht in my mouth. Long ago, I had to wear a "positioner" to sleep after I got my braces off, and on most nights, I took it out in my sleep! I bet I'd do that with the bulky generic mouthguards too, since they don't "snap" snugly into your teeth like the custom-made, expensive ones do.

Anyhoo, my point is that you might want to try hypnosis (sometimes called hypnotherapy, since "hypnosis" sometimes makes people think of weird or corny hogwash.) I have been undergoing hypnosis sessions with a professional psychologist who also happens to be a certified hypnotherapist.

Because I engage in the bruxism when I'm asleep, I have no knowledge of it. However, when you're asleep, your SUBCONSCIOUS mind is still active, and hypnosis ALSO can plant ideas into the subconscious. So it would seem like night-time bruxism is a perfect disorder to treat with hypnotherapy!

I'm not sure whether it's helping me or not, but at least my dentist has not seen any NEW signs of wear and tear on my teeth, since I started the hypnosis. However, I haven't gone all that much yet. In fact, I need to call the psych and make another appointment -- thanks for reminding me! :)

Answer 3

If you can afford it, go and have a dentist make you a bite splint. It looks like a mouth guard that athletes use, but it is made out of a heavy duty plastic that resists grinding and clenching of the teeth. If you can't afford to get a bite splint, go and get a good athletic mouthpiece that you can fit to your mouth. It won't last anywhere near as long as a bite splint, so you will have to replace it often. I ground my teeth so much I gave myself TMJ, a condition caused by clenching and grinding your teeth and it causes extreme pain in the jaw joint. Mine was so bad, my jaw froze in a semi-closed position. The dentist was able to get it loosened up and the bite splint help tremendously.

Answer 4

You can go to your Dentist and have him mold you a night guard. Hopefully you'll control your grinding habits. Or you can check
at your local pharmacy to see if they sell night guards for a cheaper price, I am not sure how those work. I purchased my
guard where my sister works in L.A. , West Wood (CA.). She
is a office manager in a Dentist Office. Good Luck!! Oh it is a
hard plastic that goes in your mouth. it is well fitted

Answer 5

7 years ago I've been involved in a car wreck and even since suffered with severe on and off facial and jaw pain. I've tried almost everything western medicine had to offer and had visited countless of specialist, had done ct scans, and therapies but to no avail. The doctors I have been to had persisted that there wasn't anything wrong with me and that almost drove me crazy as I was going through hell from this condition. According to all my symptoms I was diagnosed by a holistic doctor as having TMJ and he had recommended this book to me. After following the recommendation in the book for several weeks, it had changed my life. I got immediate relief after following the unique set of exercises in the book and after 2 weeks the jaw and face pain had completely gone. I only wish I would have ordered this program years ago. It would have saved me a lot of pain and anguish.

Answer 6

THIS IS VERY EASY TO FIX. HAVE YOUR DENTIST FABRICATE AN N.T.I. APPLIANCE. HAVING THIS WILL KEEP YOU FROM EVER BITING DOWN TO GRIND.THE APPLIANCE IS EASY TO REMOVE, AND MAY BE WORN DURING THE NIGHT OR DAY. GOOD LUCK! THIS IS MUCH MORE EFFICIENT THAN A NIGHTGUARD WITH WHICH YOU'D STILL BE GRINDING. THE N.T.I. WORKS BY A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MEANS

Answer 7

2 Options. 1, go to the dentist and get an NTI apliance to open your bite. 2, go to the dentist and have a night guard made.

Answer 8

Try chewing gum a lot. When you feel the need to grind your teeth, conciously or unconciously, you will have gum to chew on instead of your teeth. When I was trying to stop biting my nails, I chewed a lot of gum. I found that when I was nervous chewing gum stopped me from having to chew my finger nails.

Answer 9

Wear a mouth guard.

Answer 10

Get a mouth guard fitted by a dentist & use it when u sleep