Bruxism and stress

[hthr007]

Hey everyone

Has anyone dealt with bruxism (involuntary jaw clenching and teeth girding)? Its something that I catch myself doing constantly and even more so when I'm stressed, which is the norm for me lately. It makes my jaw ache and my teeth hurt. It is not something I consciously do so I can't "just stop". I know some causes other than stress are actual physiological factors (such as poor jaw alignment) which I do not have - I had braces as a teenager (like 5 years ago) to have my teeth aligned and I wore a special brace to correct my jaw alignment also.

Has anyone dealt with this before? What helped (or helps) you not to do it?

 

[plmar]

I think i sometimes do it during my sleep, Ive had many dreams in the past in which I have bit down really hard on my teeth, especially my canines uncontrollably to the point at which they just felt out or broke into 2 and bled. Then I'd wake up and my teeth feeling uncomfortable

 

[Black Rabbit of Inle]

You can get mouth guards for bruxism (for sleeping). My ex used to grind his teeth to the point that he broke one of the front ones in half.

I've noticed I clench my jaw a lot to the point that I have 2 'resting positions' for my jaw. I don't feel comfortable if I relax it and let it fall where it wants to and have to clench it in a different direction for it to feel normal. I'm currently working out a dental plan to have 10 years of avoiding dentists dealt with though.

 

[plmar]

My ex used to grind his teeth to the point that he broke one of the front ones in half.

shit that sounds bad, especially in my case since im waiting for a crown/tooth replacement on my front tooth as its almost at the point of breaking

 

[chrisalt]

Hey everyone

Has anyone dealt with bruxism (involuntary jaw clenching and teeth girding)? Its something that I catch myself doing constantly and even more so when I'm stressed, which is the norm for me lately. It makes my jaw ache and my teeth hurt. It is not something I consciously do so I can't "just stop". I know some causes other than stress are actual physiological factors (such as poor jaw alignment) which I do not have - I had braces as a teenager (like 5 years ago) to have my teeth aligned and I wore a special brace to correct my jaw alignment also.

Has anyone dealt with this before? What helped (or helps) you not to do it?

I used to do this all the time. The dentist even told me i should get some special thing to wear when i slept so id have teeth left. Basically try doing stretches for your mouth, like say all the vowels but really say them slow and pronuced. Do this a few times a day and it will loosen up ur jaw. It helped me anyway.

Btw mine just eventually went away even tho im more stressed now then ever. Try not to thing about it also (as hard as that is). If your constantly dwelling on it you will make it worse.