Teeth grinding now (only in my sleep) because of my braces..

[Koof]

I realized I'm starting to grind my teeth now (only in my sleep).. Last night it woke me up, because I thought I may have popped off my front bracket, I did it so hard. I think it has something to do with subconsciously not laying my tongue against my teeth.. I'm not tongue thrusting anymore, but I feel like I'm trying so hard to make sure I'm not doing it even when I don't know it.. I don't know what else could be making me grind my teeth together like that while I'm sleeping, but I'm afraid I'm going to do some major damage to my teeth or braces if I keep it up. I've woken up due to this a few times, but can't really tell how often I do it, since it only happens while I'm sleeping.. Is this normal? Should I bring it up with my orthodontist or wait? I don't even know if there's anything they'd be able to do while my braces were on..

[TMJJill]

Hi,

I've only had my braces or 2 1/2 months. I've noticed that my bruxism (teeth grinding/clenching) has gotten worse since the braces went on. I know my subconscious is trying to find that "good" bite. My dentist assures me that as my teeth get better, my bruxism should as well. I've been working with him on various strategies to helpl with this problem, but haven't found a great solution yet. The one thing that has helped reduce my brusixm some was adding elastics from my lower back molar to my upper eye tooth. This is helping hold my lower jaw forward in a better position while I sleep. Many people have issues with the jaw falling back when they are lying down which throws the bite off. I know that is true in my case. My dentist is also good at doing oral trigger point releases to help with the tension in the jaw/mouth muscles also. I'll keep you posted if I find any great strategy.

[Koof]

Great, definitely please do let me know! The elastics though, did you just put them on yourself to stop them or did your ortho already have you start using them?

[Koof]

I didn't mean put them on yourself, but deciding to use them on your own without your ortho's suggestion or whatever..

[TMJJill]

Actually, it is a bit of a long story. With my history of grinding, I developed TMJ. Turns out the splint I wore for years to help prevent damage due to bruxism actually put my jaw a bit off and pushed back towards my ear. I ended up with ear pain and losing hearing. My TMJ dentist had me in a splint for about 15 months at night that kept my jaw forward and prevented the clenching. Eventually my muscles became "happy" and I wasn't inclined to try to brux. With the braces off, I didn't have the option of wearing the splint anymore. He made me an NTI splint for the clenching and it was horrible for me. I ended up in tons of pain. Even without that horrible splint, my subconscious seems to be fighting the braces a bit and my clenching had been worse than before I began treatment. In trying to find a way to help me out during the treatment, my dentist actually recommended the elastics. I'm still in a daytime lower repositioning splint for a bit longer and had to have the back molars of the splint cut away in order for the back lower bracket to be put on to allow me to try this treatment. I only wear the elastics no more than 8 hours a day/night. This process did up my schedule with regards to eruption of my back molars. I started the process about 4 months earlier than planned. My dentist seems pleased with my progress though.

I really do recommend seeking out someone who can do orofacial trigger point therapy for you. Loosening up some of those facial muscles may help a bit with the bruxing. If nothing else, while the releases hurt, the results feel good for a while.

[CountessDeSangre]

Oh wow I've noticed that I've been grinding my teeth when I wake up lately but I never attributed it to my braces. I'm definitely bringing this up at my next adjustment...

[pjacjac]

I had found a great night guard that worked great with my braces right up until I got my elastics a month ago and with the configuration canine to back molar(ouch!!)it doesn't fit in anymore and the glenching and resulting pressure on my front teeth is waking me up every few hours, it gets to the point where I eventually get fed up and take them out and put the guard back in, till morning.

Who does this trigger point thing, massage therapy person or a dentist because my jaw muscles are so tense they have muscle spasms, my regular dentist is no real help.

[TMJJill]

It's good to know I'm not alone in bruxing worse with the braces.

Trigger point therapy helps loosen some of those knots formed by muscles when they are "unhappy"...my term, not exactly technical. To learn more about what trigger points are and what pressure needs to be applied to different areas, there is a great book called "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" by Clair Davies. It isn't too expensive. The tough thing is that while you can do releases on many of the trigger points on your body by yourself, it is hard to do the facial ones on your own. They really really hurt at first if the muscles are really bad. I was in tears the first couple times I had my masseter and pterygoid facial releases done. It gets easier over time though.

It is hard to find someone really trained in doing the orofacial kind of trigger point releases. My dentist incorporates some holistic practices and does them some. I found a specially trained physical therapist who works my neck (which is tight due to the TMJ) and does orofacial releases. Some specially trained massage therapists or chiropractors can also do the releases. You might try doing searches on trigger point therapy on the internet or calling around to find someone who does this.