Bruxism (Teeth Grinding/Clenching)

[scooter133]

How many of you out there have or had Bruxism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruxism Teeth grinding/clenching)??

I've been somewhat diagnosed with Bruxism and they want me on Buspar to help with it, though I have not seen any relief from that. I'm more of a clencher vs a grinder. Pretty sever at night, moderate during the day

My Biggest relief is wearing a night time mouth guard that offsets my Jaw a bit so I dont clench as hard.

I'm starting my CPAP up on January 2nd and wanted to knowe from the troops if they have had any experience, tips or tricks they would care to share on the topic.

Thanks!
Scott<-

[Alshain]

Lack of sleep is a neurological problem that can CAUSE behavioral problems like Bruxism, so yes. When you aren't sleeping your body and mind are stressed. This causes you to grind your teeth, among other things like irritability. Lot's of people here have it. I do, I wear a night guard. The problem is, lack of sleep usually causes daytime stress grinding which means your night guards don't do a lot, unless you want to wear them all day.

[snoozysue]

Lasy year I had a very sore jaw and was blaming it on CPAP - thought I had the straps too tight. Finally went to the dentist who said I was clenching/grinding at night. He made a "heavy duty" night guard and all the pain miraculously disappeared. It's almost a year now and I wear it everynight and no more sore jaw!I figured with all the CPAP stuff (FF mask, nose gel, anti leak strap, eye covers, mask liner) that one more thing to wear at night wouldn't matter!

[osmium sleeper]

I've had clenching problems as long as I've had sleep problems... my entire life. The only thing that really helps me is my NTI, and being prescribed certain stimulant medication. A large portion of my bite problems come from having 2 rounds of braces that crammed my underbite into a "normal" bite by removing bottom teeth and crowding my tongue back, when I should have had my upper jaw moved forward. Oh well.

It is actually making my compliance tough so far. If sleeping with my CPAP did not make me feel so wonderful the next day, I would totally can it from this problem alone.

[SleepyToo2]

I do have a problem with bruxism - my dentist actually fit me with an appliance to help with that. It is called Silent Nite. I am not sure if it is approved for use in sleep apnea, but it does help reduce the AHI (although mine is now fairly low, it is hard to tell). It certainly doesn't cure severe apnea. However, because it tends to keep the jaws closer together with a limited range of movement, it does help the bruxism. I much prefer the appliance to any medication, which could make me feel MUCH worse!

[NotSleepingBeauty]

I was grinding my teeth when I read this. I have been clenching and grinding pretty much since childhood. I was using an oral appliance that moved my jaw forward at night to treat my apnea. It worked but my sleep pattern was better with CPAP, or it just could have been that I was less stressed at the tiration than I was with the initial study.

Since starting CPAP I have no worn the device, mostly because it hurts the inside of my cheeck. I don't know if I am still grinding/clenching at night, I don't wake up in any pain, but I certainly do it in the daytime. Sometimes so bad that my jaw does hurt. I have to really focus to stop doing it...

[n0hardmask]

Scooter,
Bruxism is likely the cause of the broken tooth I suffered about 6 years ago, and I attribute the night grinding/clenching/sawing to STRESS. All stress - apnea, marital, work... I started a particularly stressful decade shortly before I broke the tooth.
I finally got a custom nightguard made, and an implant to replace the extracted molar. Although I don't wear it every night, I've noticed in the 5 months of CPAP treatment that when I wear the nightguard, I have an easier time of keeping the mouth shut.

I encourage you to use the nightguard.. I wasn't diagnosed with Bruxism until after I had to have gum surgery to reduce the bone spurs on my jaw near the tooth roots. Believe me, you don't want to need that; the nasal septoplasty was a picnic compared to recovering from the bone reduction surgery.
So my recommendation if to reduce stress however you can, and wear the mouthguard, and it will probably make your CPAP more effective, IMO. Good luck; have a safe New Year.

[nanwilson]

I use a youth size sports mouth guard that you boil and bite to size. Works like a charm and only cost $5. I am now missing 2 teeth that I broke so badly my dentist could not fix them . With the mouth guard I can no longer grind my teeth and if I clench, I clench against the guard........cheap and it works. Also keeps my big yap shut and has lowered my ahi to 0.0 to 0.3

[scooter133]

Wow! Thanks all! Glad I'm not alone...

I've been wearing 'Better Fit Night Guard' (amazon $2) Since April. Its a Boil and Bite, though if I bite like they say firmly down as hard as I can, the unit does not help much with the Bruxism and only lasts a few weeks. I bite enough to make a top impression and call it good. Its much more bulky that way, but is a total savior and lasts several months.

My Step Dad runs a Dental Lab and made me the Traditional mouth guard for grinding. I wore it for three night just to be sure it wasn't working. It was like the old days before the night guard. Morning headaches, Jaw Aches, runny nose. It just was not thick enough to offset the jaw enough to relieve the jaw pressure I was creating.

Since I need the Thicker gap, it is pretty bulky in my mouth, so the problem that has caused is when my nose is really stuffy its really hard to breath because I really have to open my mouth with the appliance in. Opening that wide is not that natural to do while you are sleeping.

Again, thanks all! I appreciate it!

Scott<-

[RocketGirl]

Count me into this club. Before changing dentists and getting a nightguard that works, I broke almost every molar I own.

All nightguards aren't the same, as you noted, scooter133. The first one my old dentist gave me was the rubbery kind similar to sports guards, and even though it was custom fit to my lower jaw, it did nothing to stop the problem because I just bit into it at night with full force. A different dentist fit me with a thin, rigid one that snaps into place over the upper teeth, and it has a rounded acrylic nubbin at the front. When I clench, I progressively wear a groove into the nubbin and it takes the wear instead of my teeth. About once a year I take the guard with me to the dentist and he adds new acrylic to the nubbin. I never sleep without it, not even for a short nap. This nightguard has kept me free of further tooth damage for over ten years now, and the guard does not interfere with my mask. (I also look like Bugs Bunny when I'm wearing it).

After my titration study when we were discussing masks, the sleep doctor remarked that in a few cases, cpap will cause patients to stop clenching completely. That seems like the realm of miracles to me, but apparently it can happen.

[SleepingUgly]

Grinding can be a compensatory mechanism for a collapsing airway. It may improve on CPAP.

[Kitatonic]

Seven years ago, I chipped my front teeth a few times until my dentist fitted me for a custom night guard. But this past year, despite wearing the night guard, I broke off a crown and a filling. The dentist was puzzled since there was no decay and questioned if I was really wearing that night guard. Then two months later, I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. Now it's only been three months on CPAP, but so far, no more dental emergencies.
Perhaps, we should promote dentist/dental hygienist to screen for sleep apnea (snore? morning dry mouth,teeth ground down? etc...)

[Paul56]

How many of you out there have or had Bruxism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruxism Teeth grinding/clenching)??

Raised hand... yep, I have that.

I have a custom dental appliance that I wear along with the mask
each night. My teeth took a beating before I had the appliance.
I still have them all but they are somewhat worn down.