Hi everyone,
I have gone to a dr. who specializes in myofascial pain and TMJ joints/muscles. My bite is off and he wants to fit me for a mouth guard to keep me from clenching my teeth at night. He thinks this has caused my jaw muscle to wear down and that may have caused my bite to be off. I liked his bedside manner and felt I could trust what he was telling me. I just would like input from anyone out there who knows anything about this.
Thank you!!
Hi Jamie,
I have been a terrible teeth grinder/clencher my entire life. Now I haven’t been dx’d with TMJ but I do have experience with night guards. I grind so much that I grind through and break my guards usually within a year, but during that time it really seems to help with the sensitivity of my back teeth expicially, and eases the pressure I feel in my jaws, If your Dentists have recommended a guard, do it. It will potentially save your teeth, ease the pain in your jaw {s} and correct your bite. Just make sure its a perfect fit, Good luck, let us know how it goes.
Thank you Sabrina and Kristin for sharing your experience. I have decided to go ahead and give this a try. Thanks for your encouragement. It helps with my decision. I hope you’re both feeling well today:)
my dentist made me a splint for “grinding” which started my face pain. for nine months i had terrible teeth pain no medication would alleviate. i was finally informed by a dentist at mass general my bite had shifted so much that only one back molar was making contact when i bit down. all my teeth were in traumatic occlusion. a new splint was made to realign my bite and within one week, the horrible teeth pain was gone. the facial pain it caused has never fully went away, and i am still searching for answers. i must wear the new splint everyday and i will eventually need some type of orthodontic work to fix my bite.
be careful of what dental treatment you subscribe to. i never needed my first splint, and i often wonder what my life would be like now had i never listened to my first dentist.
the researcher
Hi, I don’t understand why the first splint caused you pain but the second one didn’t. They took a mold of my teeth and are making the splint thing now. I go next week to get it.
the researcher said:
my dentist made me a splint for “grinding” which started my face pain. for nine months i had terrible teeth pain no medication would alleviate. i was finally informed by a dentist at mass general my bite had shifted so much that only one back molar was making contact when i bit down. all my teeth were in traumatic occlusion. a new splint was made to realign my bite and within one week, the horrible teeth pain was gone. the facial pain it caused has never fully went away, and i am still searching for answers. i must wear the new splint everyday and i will eventually need some type of orthodontic work to fix my bite.
be careful of what dental treatment you subscribe to. i never needed my first splint, and i often wonder what my life would be like now had i never listened to my first dentist.
the researcher
the first splint improperly changed my bite and put pressure on my teeth and facial muscles, causing pain. the second splint realigned my bite into its proper place, eliminating pain.
here’s a red flag to let you know you’re getting a bad splint: anything which keeps your upper and lower teeth apart. if the teeth do not make contact with each other they can continue to erupt (grow) and change your bite. this is what happened to me in the case of my splint. my back teeth were kept apart at night, my molars erupted over time and my bite was thrown off. i still have an imbalanced bite, but the new splint i have been wearing does its best to align things until i have permanent dental treatment to fix what damage the first splint did.
good luck,
the researcher
jamie leigh said:
Hi, I don’t understand why the first splint caused you pain but the second one didn’t. They took a mold of my teeth and are making the splint thing now. I go next week to get it.
the researcher said:my dentist made me a splint for “grinding” which started my face pain. for nine months i had terrible teeth pain no medication would alleviate. i was finally informed by a dentist at mass general my bite had shifted so much that only one back molar was making contact when i bit down. all my teeth were in traumatic occlusion. a new splint was made to realign my bite and within one week, the horrible teeth pain was gone. the facial pain it caused has never fully went away, and i am still searching for answers. i must wear the new splint everyday and i will eventually need some type of orthodontic work to fix my bite.
be careful of what dental treatment you subscribe to. i never needed my first splint, and i often wonder what my life would be like now had i never listened to my first dentist.
the researcher
Thank you everyone for your input on my bite/jaw problems. I am going next week to get the guard/splint (not sure exactly what it is called) and all your experiences have helped me to know what to expect. Thank you!
I hope you all have a pain-free, stress-free, wonderful day.
I have TMJ as well as TN. I have worn the night guard for over a dozen years due to clenching my teeth at night. I’ve only been diagnosed with TN for a month or so, but wearing the splint at night does not seem to have any effect on the TN. What the spling has done is save me thousands of dollars in dental expenses…no more crowns on my teeth since I started with the night guard. For me, it was a good thing.