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Hello, everyone. I'm new to this forum. It's a nice place. I've already got a lot of useful info. Now I have one more question.
I just got the brace on my upper teeth 5 days ago. It started to work that night. I bit on one of my teeth while having dinner and it hurt! I had to slow down and tried very hard not to touch that tooth. But this is not the worst part. I have been having a hard time sleeping! I would wake up so often because I clenched my teeth and that very one would hurt so much. The reason is because the corresponding lower tooth is on the outside position relative to the upper one. The movement of the upper tooth changed the relative position of these two and they now knock on each other.
I haven't found people discussing this specific problem on this forum. Is my case so special? I think I need to contact my Orthodontist ASAP. I figured I would need a nightguard or something like it. The problem is I do not know where I can get one ASAP. I ordered one from amazon but I'll have to wait for half a month before it gets delivered. I can't imagine how I can survive with this sleeping problem before it arrives...
Go to WalMart and get a $1.00 clear Youth Nightguard in their sports department. The youth size fits the best for us women. It will help for the time being. I've used it for emergencies. You boil it, put it in your mouth and it shapes to your teeth. Be aware though that sometimes it makes you clench more but it will spare your teeth any chipping.
Top Braces June 2004
Bottom Braces November 2004
Debanded January 2007
Chris wrote:Go to WalMart and get a $1.00 clear Youth Nightguard in their sports department. The youth size fits the best for us women. It will help for the time being. I've used it for emergencies. You boil it, put it in your mouth and it shapes to your teeth. Be aware though that sometimes it makes you clench more but it will spare your teeth any chipping.
Thanks for the info! I'll take off right now otherwise I don't know how I can sleep tonight....
I should have said SPORTSGUARD...cause you may confuse it with the nightguards in the pharmacy department that are over $20 and don't fit well. The $1.00 Sportsguard is great. Kids with braces use it all the time when playing sports.
Top Braces June 2004
Bottom Braces November 2004
Debanded January 2007
I agree with Chris to do something now so you can get a good night sleep, but please call your ortho tomorrow and see what else can be done. My ortho is a TMJ guru, and he has mentioned to me more than once how much damage OTC gaurds can cause. That is not to say that in every case there will be a problem, just that an improper gaurd MAY cause problems further down the road. Don't forget that you are paying your ortho for this - they expect us to call and ask them this kind of stuff.
Same problem as me.
I called my ortho and told him I was afraid I was going to chip/break my teeth so he places/bonded some blue material on my right and left molars (the first ones) and built them up a bit. I have a over bite and this picked me up and would not allow my bottoms to touch my tops. It fixed me up 80%. I do now have to sleep on my back, this keeps my bottom jaw back and I'm not whacking my bottoms against the tops at night BUT if I sleep on my side or stomach WHACK it does happem
I LOVE that he did these build ups, I've come to rely on this. I am in fear of taking them out/off now (only a couple months into treatment) because I don't want to whack my teeth. It is so loud and it kills ya. When it happens I have to get up out of bed and go look in the mirror to see if I've cracked/chipped anything.
I'm not going to talk about it anymore because it now will happen to me tonight.
Check it ou, call in the morining see if you can get in...it works and takes a load off!!!
I have a bite plate for this very reason. A bit hard to get used talking in, but now that I'm accustomed to it, I love it.
I know that makes me sound weird.
Mike
I wore braces (this time) for 1294 days or 3 years, 6 months and 17 days.
But who's counting?
Jaw Surgery June 1, 2009
Thanks for praying for me and thinking happy thoughts.
Thanks everyone, especially Chris. This forum is so friendly...
I am now with that 97-cent sports guard in my mouth... Like you guys have already pointed out, I don't want this to affect the braces. So I put it on to my lower teeth instead where it's brace free (for the time being). I also did some custom fit with scissors before the boiling part. And now I feel pretty comfortable with it.
I will definitely call my ortho tomorrow morning. But I am pretty relaxed now with this emergy help.
I thought I should update on this. The mouth guard did work last night. I had a pretty good sleep, which is so precious... I did feel it's a temporary/emergency solution though. So I'll find out what my ortho is gonna to do...
ishasha - that is the exact one I asked my ortho about. He said that because it is squishy it can do quite a bit of damage to the TMJ. I think it has something to do with your jaw squeezing it over and over. The one he made for me is a hard plastic that holds everything in place. I know there are a lot of different opinions and I would never dream of giving actual *advice* - that is what our doctors are for - I just want to give you a heads up so you can check with your doctor before you use it.
ishasha - that is the exact one I asked my ortho about. He said that because it is squishy it can do quite a bit of damage to the TMJ. I think it has something to do with your jaw squeezing it over and over. The one he made for me is a hard plastic that holds everything in place. I know there are a lot of different opinions and I would never dream of giving actual *advice* - that is what our doctors are for - I just want to give you a heads up so you can check with your doctor before you use it.
Yes, its true, the "squishy" ones do make you clench more, but it prevents chipping of any teeth. I wouldn't use it on a regular basis. I used mine for a couple of weeks until the offending tooth moved.
Just curious though on the molded plastic ones (wouldn't you grow out of it soon since your teeth are moving?) I know that after my braces are off I am definitely going to get a custom made nightguard and hopefully my teeth won't shift and make the need for a new one again ($$$)
Top Braces June 2004
Bottom Braces November 2004
Debanded January 2007
Delag and Chris, thanks for the feedback. I'll bring the picture of the adjustable mouth guard to my ortho this Wed and ask for his opinion. Yes, I made an appointment with him this Wed. Too bad these orthos are not available everyday. I wonder how they deal with emergencies...
I had the hard plastic splint prior to getting braced.
Now my ortho won't let me use any kind, for the most part. After I chipped a tooth, they offered me a Boylan Bite (Never did get one, so I can't tell you how it worked). He said it could be boiled and then fitted LOOSELY to my teeth, with no real specific mould. He emphasised the loose part because using such a guard could restrict the teeth from making their progress in movement.
Like you guys have already pointed out, I don't want this to affect the braces. So I put it on to my lower teeth instead where it's brace free (for the time being). I also did some custom fit with scissors before the boiling part. And now I feel pretty comfortable with it. 
