Is there a way to stop teeth night-time grinding?

Question

I already use a night-guard to protect my teeth. However, I would still like to stop grinding my teeth at night.

Answer 1

I don't think you can stop the grinding, as your body is doing it subconciously in your sleep. My dentist once recommended me to use the night-guard to protect my teeth at night. This was the only advice he gave me. I know of no way to stop it completely. I think you're probably doing all you can to protect your teeth. Try asking your dentist if there's anything new on the market.

Answer 2

Everybody grinds their teeth! You said you have a night guard, but what kind do you have? There are sport mouth guards and soft night guards that are the least effective. I recommend going to the dentist and buying one that is made specifically for your teeth and is hard and has one flat surface so that your teeth don't interdigitate (fancy word for clenching together when you bite down and shifting your teeth. You can do it right now: bite down and keep your teeth touching. Now wiggle your lower jaw slowly. You can feel your teeth's grooves preventing you from sliding your jaw completely forward and back. This is known as interdigitating.) If you have a soft night guard, the squishy material can still allow you to do this and won't prevent grinding headaches or the actual movement of your teeth. However soft guard still can prevent and help with ware patterns on your teeth. The hard guards can go on your upper or lower teeth and should have a flat surface that will allow your teeth to slide and not interdigitate. All night guards take some getting used to because its extra bulk in your mouth.

Either way to really answer your question: everybody clenches and grinds their teeth... some more than others... and we all go through bouts where we do it more than average. Stress and other factors can contribute to grinding... so if you have a busy life and are stressed out this can make you grind more at night. I had a boss who used to grind his teeth when he was pissed off... so when he was angry talking his teeth were clenched together... some people even grind when they are stuck in traffic... the best thing to do when you notcie you are grinding or clenching your teeth durring the day is to calm down, relax and chew a peice of gum (hopefully sugar free) and as far as the night time goes just prepare yourself the best you can.

Answer 3

Is there a way to stop teeth night-time grinding?

Answer 4

depends on the person. some people can't help but grind their teeth while sleeping, just like some people can't stop snoring. though the cause for this behavior is unknown, it is generally believed that stress may be the culprit. (one of my co-workers actually stopped grinding her teeth by learning to relax.)

don't know if you're a natural grinder or just stressed, but if you're the latter, try:
- relaxing about life in general. (learning some coping skills, behavioral therapy or self-hypnosis to handle stress.)
- monitoring yourself throughout the day to see if you tense your jaw.
- taking a bath to temporarily relax your jaw.

if it's really, really, really bad, i heard about injecting botox, but i'm sure this may have unknown consequences; besides, botox would only fix the symptom, not the cause.

good luck.

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

I heard there were some medication you could take for it, you should ask your doctor. I have the same problem, I am lituraly grinding through my jaw

Answer 7

Try chewing gum before bed. Many unconscious body movements are caused by the body trying to exhaust itself. Chewing gum will exercise the jaw.

Answer 8

i was goin to say night guard,but since you already have one than, tell your dentist you may need something else,like a nasty paste they have now.