Night Teeth Grinding?

[tinkc]

I've been grinding my teeth over the last couple of months. I hadn't really noticed it until very recently when my jaw is a little sore and my teeth actually feel like they were chewing all night. Then my husband told me he could hear me actually chomping in my sleep. I haven't been to the orthodontist since I put the pieces together & figured out what I was doing. I'm supposed to be getting my top & bottom braces on next week. I know a couple people that have custom night guards from their dentists for their grinding but since I'll be in braces, I won't be able to do that until they're off. Has anyone dealt with grinding while they have their braces on? What did your ortho suggest?

[rtergeggde]

i try to sleep on my back head looking at the ceiling with my mouth open.

[Jano]

Hi tinc , when I went for my braces appointment , the ortho told me that he could see I had been grinding my teeth quite badly . I had absolutely no idea I had been doing that .In order to prevent me from breaking the brackets etc from grinding in my sleep , he has put a little bit of cement on a back lower molar that stops my teeth from meeting at the back . The morning after the braces went on was the first morning in a long time I didnt have a headache so I figured the headaches were from the grinding pressure on my temporal mandibular joint TMJ . A great side effect of braces .. no more temporal headaches . I dont even notice the cement thing , its just a little blue blob like a blob of bluetak on the molar.

[Jano]

Hi tinc , when I went for my braces appointment , the ortho told me that he could see I had been grinding my teeth quite badly . I had absolutely no idea I had been doing that .In order to prevent me from breaking the brackets etc from grinding in my sleep , he has put a little bit of cement on a back lower molar that stops my teeth from meeting at the back . The morning after the braces went on was the first morning in a long time I didnt have a headache so I figured the headaches were from the grinding pressure on my temporal mandibular joint TMJ . A great side effect of braces .. no more temporal headaches . I dont even notice the cement thing , its just a little blue blob like a blob of bluetak on the molar.

[ArchWired28]

I have that blue cement on my lower 1st molars. I have no idea if I grind at night or not, but the cement is almost completely eaten away by now, so I probably do Aside from that, I know that orthos may do a tiny splint that hooks to your upper front teeth and prevents the jaws from coming together in sleep. I personally don;t care for yet another appliance in my mouth, but you can try if the grinding bothers you so much.

[sirwired]

You should absolutely mention this to your orthodontist. You aren't the first patient to present with bruxism.

That said, grinding (and the associated tooth/jaw/TMJ pain) often drops dramatically for people in braces. Why? Because the massive forces involved in grinding trigger feelings of pressure and sometimes pain while you have braces on; this eliminates the subconscious cathartic effect of tooth grinding.

However, if the braces don't stop the grinding, something will have to be done to keep it from messing up your treatment.

[drgnchsr36]

You should absolutely mention this to your orthodontist. You aren't the first patient to present with bruxism.

That said, grinding (and the associated tooth/jaw/TMJ pain) often drops dramatically for people in braces. Why? Because the massive forces involved in grinding trigger feelings of pressure and sometimes pain while you have braces on; this eliminates the subconscious cathartic effect of tooth grinding.

However, if the braces don't stop the grinding, something will have to be done to keep it from messing up your treatment.

That's interesting. I find it that I grind my teeth more with braces.. probably due to the cement buildups though and trying to get them to wear down (which they have pretty much by now).. but I still grind/clench my jaw quite a bit. I only have TMJ issues when I get my teeth cleaned.