Is there a treatment for bruxism (teeth grinding)?

Best thing for me was retainers. Don’t have to worry about grinding anymore.

For me personally grinding was mostly a problem linked with the adrenaline or whatever causes that “wired” feeling after overdoing things.
 
Sasha said:
Any exercises that work?
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I don't know, tbh. The mouth guard is the extent of my knowledge, and it's only one person's experience! But dentists' advice pages might be more reliable than average, even though they are marketing services.

My friend's treatment wasn't enormously expensive, but he did have to pay for it. It was worth it to him because it seemed to offer a genuine chance of reducing migraine frequency—if yours isn't causing quite such painful and disruptive consequences, the cost/benefit calculation might be different?
 
I suffer with noctural bruxism, and have done for at least six years. I have written about it here on other threads.

There is no cure. There are certain things you can do to help lessen the issue. Minimizing stress is probably up there, because often this is related to stress. You should also check your medication to make sure that it isn't a cause; lots of psych meds can cause bruxism.

Getting a custom mouthguard is helpful because it spreads the forces across a larger area and helps protect your teeth. However, it probably won't stop the bruxism. I have to wear one every night and I still have issues with my teeth; I've worn some down and even lost the corner of two of them despite good oral hygeine. Your dentist can sort out getting a guard for you.

One of the best treatments seems to be botox injections into the jaw muscles. Some people claim total relief after this, but the bruxism often comes back a few months later as the botox wears off.
 
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InitialConditions said:
There is no cure.
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Wouldn't that be weird, though? Maybe my case is odd but I can't properly relax my jaw during the day. If I try to relax it, other muscles in the jaw seem to get tense, and if I try to relax those, the ones I just relaxed get tense again, like a yoyo. I can't help but think that if I could relax the whole system (as the botox does artificially), I'd be sorted, but I don't know how to.

A few years ago, I kept waking up with my jaw dislocated if I slept on my left hand side. I could jiggle it back into place after a few sweaty, panicking seconds, but was eventually able to fix it using some exercises that my dentist gave me. I was hoping that this might be a similar thing. (I suspect that I might be clenching my jaw partly for fear of dislocation, especially when I lie on my left side, which I now need to do for non-jaw reasons.)

I get loads of headaches, as well as food-triggered migraines but it hadn't occurred to me that this jaw thing might be part of the problem.

Argh! I don't need another medical problem to solve! :arghh: But I'm glad that I'm among such helpful friends. :)
 
Sasha said:
I can't properly relax my jaw during the day. If I try to relax it, other muscles in the jaw seem to get tense, and if I try to relax those, the ones I just relaxed get tense again, like a yoyo.
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I knew a flute player who used to relax his embouchure by doing that thing horses do—blowing air through their lips so they sort of vibrate.

It's kinda ridiculous, but if it works... :laugh:
 
I thought bruxism was the same as temporomandibular joint disorder, but Google tells that it's not..I have TMJD and grind my teeth very painfully,despite my custom made bite guard.

N=3 in pwME I know personally. I think teeth grinding is supposed to be common in ME? But it might be another of those myths

It is why Zoe Ball has stepped down from her breakfast show as apparently she suffers very badly

I have found that rubbing ibuprofen gel into my jaw muscles helps ease the pain
 
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