clenching teeth

I am wondering if anyone has tried essential oils for this? I tried mouth guards, and they are too big for my mouth. I apparently have a small jaw, so unless I want to spend $1000+ for a dental one I am out of luck.

I clench a lot, and would love to find a way to stop/alleviate the effects. I can't wear a mouth guard because for whatever reason, as soon as I try using a guard of any type, I almost immediately end up with a respiratory infection/problem.

So interested in anyone else's ideas/thoughts as well.

eeyore1965 wrote:I am wondering if anyone has tried essential oils for this? I tried mouth guards, and they are too big for my mouth. I apparently have a small jaw, so unless I want to spend $1000+ for a dental one I am out of luck.

I keep hearing that OSA causes grinding because our jaws are trying to get into a position so we can breathe well. Have you been using the CPAP for very long? I am wondering too, how much it will help, as I grind my teeth and have TMJ as well. My jaw locks up when I open it too wide. I wear a night guard at night. (mine was custom made by the dentist). About to start on my APAP machine next week.

Short story; I'm a grinder/clencher. I probably started doing it 5-6 years ago. This last December it was really starting to really hurt and my TMJ's were getting inflamed. So I told my dentist about it. He made me a night splint to help with the grinding and it kind of worked. I talked to a couple guys at work about it and one of their wives had gone through something similar. He said she had to go to an orthodontist to get everything straightened out; literally. So I checked out a couple local orthodontists; one had additional training treating TMJD. I decided to work with him.

He made me a couple splints; an upper splint that was basically a retainer and a lower splint that had raised portions where the molars are so I couldn't get into the position that I would clench and grind. It was completely awkward to wear; thankfully I wear a full face mask for my OSA. I had no shot keeping my lips closed with them in. In about 2 weeks, my jaw pain had decreased, the knotted muscle in my temple had started to relax, the headache went away, my lower jaw started shifting back to a better position. I wore them every night for about 4 months. (With the splints, and FFM for the OSA, and shoulder surgery it was a treat to get ready for bed.) Then we needed to make a decision. Continue with the splints or fix the problems that the clenching and grinding had created.

The clenching and grinding pushed my upper bicuspid/ premolars on my left side up about 3 or 4 mm into my palate. My lower jaw had shifted over about the same amount to my left. Causing the TMJD... So I decided to fix the problem and got braces (again) at 40 years old. I had them put on about a month ago. Not fun, but better than the TMJD.

The reason I tell you my story is that if you happen to get things fixed before they get out of hand; ie wearing a night splint from an orthodontist instead of just putting up with it like me, you could probably save yourself some time, money, pain and aggravation. If I had been willing to get things looked at years ago when I first noticed it, I could have prevented things from happening with my bite and teeth. I highly recommend finding a TMJD/bruxism specialist in your area to take care of things. Some dentists have the training, some orthodontists and max/facial surgeons might... All will charge a different amount so you need to shop around.

BTW total cost for the braces; about $6k; the splints he made were only $400.