Anyone else started clenching their teeth since braces?

[WiredJon]

I did for the first few days, but I seem to have relaxed again now. Maybe I'll start again after the first adjustment.

[drgnchsr36]

Yep, I didn't do it before braces either.. and I'm hoping I don't do it after they're off.. but I've been clenching my teeth for the last almost 2yrs now

[oktobergoud]

Just a little, but I've been doing it before braces as well. Nothing too severe though, in my case!

[rawr101]

I am so glad i found this topic. I thought it was just me. I havent even had braces n for a full month yet (around 3 weeks) and few days ago my teeth just started clenching. I'll just be minding my own business and wonder why my jaw hurts..then i notice my mouth is clenched down hard. Before braces I would do it one in a blue moon (maybe a couple of days every 6 months) but know i've been worried that combined with braces my teeth are just gonna say eff it and fall out.

[Metal Mickey]

Yep I do this too, although I think I did it a little before braces. Some mornings I have woken up and it's like I need to prise my teeth apart!

[WendySue1969]

I've noticed this as well. It's not happening every night but I do notice a couple of times a week that I wake up with my teeth clenched together. Never noticed that I did that before braces.

[Dee17]

I've also been having this problem since I got my braces put on at the end of October. I've had an almost continual headache since then. It is waking me up a few times each night. I called my orthodontist's office to ask about it and the technician I spoke to told me that this is very normal because your body is getting used to all the new hardware. I know that I was a "clencher" before I got my braces put on, though, because when I went in to see a periodontist he told me he could tell I'd been doing it for years because of the wear on my back teeth. It seems to have gotten worse, though, since I got braces even though the periodontist said I would not be able to do it anymore after I got my braces put on. I guess he was wrong.

[Weston]

Twenty three months I had braces put on, I started clenching my teeth a month later. It was on and off through this process. I am at the end will be getting the braces off next month and I am starting to clench again.

The headache were horrific, I too would wake in the mile of the night.

[tfischer]

oh wow - I never thought about my clenching my teeth so much more having something to do with the headaches I seem to be getting lately.....but it does make sense. When I wake up in the morning, I can tell if I have been clenching a lot at night (some nights are worse than others) and I get headaches later on those same days....I just thought it was because I wasn't wearing my glasses (maybe its a combo of both)....but that certainly makes more sense....

[udubdave]

I'm a notorious clencher. Sometimes I wonder if clenching makes the braces work slower. I can't stop it though, lol.

[ultra]

You guys need some supplements to help relax your jaw muscles and strengthen teeth and bones. You should take a combo of good quality potassium and calcium supplements and I guarantee in just a few days your jaw and facial muscles will be feeling much more relaxed.

Keep smiling!

[Dee17]

I started taking calcium and potassium about two months before I knew I was going to get braces. How long does it take for it to work? I'm still clenching like crazy and it doesn't seem to be getting any better.

[xanidu2012]

I've had braces 6 months now and for the last 3 months I've been clenching especially at night. Some times I wake up and think I've got lock jaw and some times my husband will catch me doing a chewing motion but there's no food in my mouth. Its

[nancy13000]

I've been doing this too. I got braces put on Monday NOV. 12th. At night when I sleep is the worst I notice I snap my jaw closed real hard and often wake up from the pain and my boyfriend wakes up from the sound too. I was doing this before my braces though. Maybe some relaxation techniques would help, massaging the area, meditating, so on.... And ideas? Sounds a lot like TMJ problems, which I also have popping in my jaw. Weird

[Dee17]

Hi Nancy,
I've tried doing some meditation before going to bed. It hasn't really helped all that much. One of the guys on this forum who I think is an orthodontist said that clenching is triggered by something in the brain. Kind of makes me think that there's not much to be done about it in that case. I just take lots and lots of Tylenol and it has been helping with the headaches I've been getting from it.