Clenching

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#1 Post by **Dramagyrl** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 11:00 am

My ortho insisted my TMJ symptoms would pass while I had braces on and more than likely stay that way once I had the braces off. That's one of the main reasons I got them.
Sadly, out of the blue, I woke up with extreme pain in my jaw a couple weeks ago and found a piece of the blue plastic was broken off of my molar plate/lift/bite palate (Something to help with my bite that has a mound of cement on it). Now it's starting all over again, I'm clenching almost nightly and I can't wear my old splint because of movement of the teeth and the fact I have big metal chunks on the front. Any of those sports guards I've seen in the store are not recommended for braces.
Just wondering if anyone else has such a problem and what they do? When I'm sleeping, I don't consider how hard I'm biting (if I broke a piece of the bite plate, that would be bad if I got a bracket or something), and I can't control when this is happening.
I've had enough trouble with adjusting to the braces, cut mouth, speaking, sore gums from movement ... I really don't want unnecessary jaw pain too.

#2 Post by **jcdamon3** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 2:14 pm

Hii,

I am a clencher/grinder too and it seems to come and go while braced. They did say it could get a bit worse. I think it is because you have pain/tension going on with your mouth.

Talk to your ortho. I think there are splints you can get to go with braces. I should have done it awhile ago too but I am hoping I can last 6 more months at which point I will get a night splint.

#3 Post by **starryadora** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:37 pm

Ah...i feel your pain, as I went into wearing braces as a clencher who used to be on daily muscle relaxers just to alleviate the headache pain from clenching. In my case, braces did help alleviate the clenching. My ortho said it is possible that clenching can be helped with braces if you have bite issues (like me), but it can never be guaranteed. Hang in there! Our bites are always changing while being braced, so hopefully this period will pass soon enough for you!

#4 Post by **nvcarissa** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 4:51 am

I had a problem with clenching in the early days of being braced and then it settled down, only to rear its ugly head again after having my surgery. My OS said it had to do with the change in my bite (this is what I figured both times) and my body/brain fighting the new position. My OS prescribed muscle relaxers that I took for about two weeks at night and that helped a great deal.

#5 Post by **Bridget** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 1:55 am

My problem is I "clap" with my teeth just before I fall asleep and during the night I clench.....I realized that I also do this during the day (not as bad as during the night) - my lower jaw is never really relaxed...and this is new to me - only started with my braces....

#6 Post by **Chris** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 8:41 am

I "clap" my teeth together in the middle of the night and wake myself up!
Its worse now with my elastics and correcting the midline.
I have some chips in the teeth to prove it.

#7 Post by **Chris** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 8:23 am

I went to the jaw products.com and got an orthodontic mouth guard to use overnite and it works well. )

I went on to this website..but which one did you get and did it fit OVER your braces?

#8 Post by **jbjalways** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 4:54 pm

I'm a grinder and clencher at night when I sleep. I didn't realize how bad I do it till I got braces. I have woken myself up many times clenching so hard and now that my teeth are sore it wakes me up. I have ground off two sets of bite blocks in two weeks, but the third one is now 3 weeks or so old so I think I'm getting better or that one is stronger.

They didn't know what to do with me so I am glad it is better. I had a mouth guard made for $650 a long time ago, but can't wear it with braces.

Hope it gets better for you too.

#9 Post by **Chris** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 6:19 pm

Yes it fits over the braces and its red. There are different color ones but red is easy to spot if you accidently remove it at night.

There were 2 different types of sports guards. Which one did you get?
One has holes in the front for breathing and the other looks like 2 separate units?

#10 Post by **ucldbmine** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 2:19 pm

Same thing here I always wore a night guard before for clenching got braces for TMJ symptoms and the clenching was waaay worse once I got them on. My othro made me what they called a soft splint. Worked great for a couple of weeks but with the shifting of my teeth it doesn't fit for long. A splint doesn't do you much good when it falls out of your mouth during the night so when it gets this way I call the ortho and get a new one made. Its fast and easy usually get appointment within day or two and the lab in the office can do it in an hour.