Do you grind your teeth?

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thumpershere2

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Does anyone grind their teeth while sleeping? My dentist said I do and that they have a guard to use to protect your teeth. Well it cost over $500.00 and insurence doesn't cover it. Well I'm not going for it. Now I did see an ad on tv about a product called Night Guard now sold without prescription. Sure enough Wal mart had them for about $ 18.00. Before I purchase one I wouild like to know if anyone has used them and if so do they work and is it hard to get use to them.Thanks all who will help me on this.
 
Just get yourself into the habit of sticking your tongue between your teeth (on one side or the other near the back) and you won't have a problem. No joke, this works for me.
 
My mother works in a dentist office. He has told me that 99% of the population actually grinds their teeth. Some people just do it more than others. I happen to grind very bad. My teeth are really worn down and I have had bad headaches because of grinding.

I started wearing a night guard a few years ago and it is the best thing I ever did. The kind I use is called an NTI. It really has been a blessing. if that is the kind your dentist is recommending then let me tell you that it is well worth the money.
 
Andy, I used that trick of the tongue between the teeth for many years (I grind my teeth in my sleep and have had a couple of jaw surgeries) but have found lately that it no longer works like it used to. I have been wondering about the Night Guards too as I don't have any type of medical or dental insurance at all.
 
I had this very same issue and it is painful and leads to TMJ. I would clench my teeth so hard that my face hurt and I could not lay on the pillow with my face touching it.

I tried the night guard... which protected my teeth, but I still bit down on the night guard so that did not help either.

So I got braces... the good ol fashioned metal kind and wore them for 9 months... I have perfect teeth and I don't grind, clench, or have any sort of issues anymore. It is such a relief to go to bed and wake up refreshed, instead of feeling like I had my head in the meat grinder all night!!!
 
I grind on ocassion...it is harder to know now that my honey is in D.C., and I am still in V.B. She used to wake me up on some nights because of it.
 
After breaking several teeth and having to have root canals and crowns, it finally dawned on my dentist that I might be grinding my teeth in my sleep. He said that the night guards you buy in the drugstore aren't anywhere near as good as the VERY expensive custom ones, but that they are better than no guard at all.

I definitely grind - my night guard (I got the custom-made one from my dentist) is all scratched up. But it was very easy to get used to and I'm glad I have it.

Lee
 
Go for the expensive one. Really.
My dentist started me with the hard rubber kind and within a month, I'd bitten right through it. So, I got the big kahuna. Mine cost $500 back in 1997, and I paid full for it, not having dental insurance at the time. I wear the night guard every night without fail, because before I had it, my grinding was so bad that I had to get 2 crowns, which are no fun at all!
The one I have isn't shaped like GB's. It is super hard plastic that literally snaps into my upper teeth. It's so small that it only covers the lower half of my upper teeth (does that make sense?) I can talk with it, and I don't even realize it's in.
 
Mine is like jkaths and I got it more years ago than I can remember. Ours was covered thankfully as it was also several hundred dollars worth. I don't wear it much anymore as I seem to have stopped grinding my teeth so much. Maybe the years of wearing that thing helped.

I will say though, it is worth the money to preserve your teeth, stop the headaches and keep the neck/jaw muscles limber.
 
I don't grind my teeth, but I do clench my jaw. Went to a massuese (sp?) who told me my jaw muscles were hard as bone. I have since concentrated on not clenching. I especially notice I do it when working, like I need to clench to get something accomplished:-p. I have noticed if I close my mouth and puff out my cheeks, I simply cannot clench my jaws at the same time. Looks a bit silly:rolleyes: , but it works.
 
TMJ upsets are no joke, and they can go on to Trigeminal Neuralgia. The treatment for TN used to be dividing the 7th cranial nerve and injecting it with alcohol. What it is now I do not know, but I am inclined to do what the people above said.
 
You know when your teeth chatter when you're cold? Well I do that when I'm nerves or bored. I'm an odd duck, I know.
 
lol wasabi I do that too!

DH grinds teeth very badly, I call him old camel teeth because they are worn dorn and look like camel or sheep teeth, and I can see the dentine. He has a guard which works wonders. He replaced it this year having worn through an old one, which was a different sort. All I can say is that his was bought in UK and was nothing like $500, I guess the equivalent would be about $375 dollars. The only hassle is that the first few they sent did not fit properly, despite the mold from his teeth being sent, so it took about 12 weeks through out which time he was grinding very badly.
 
Thanks all for the info and replies. I think I will wait awhile but I'm leaning toward the guard at wally mart. Suppose to soak in hot water to then be pliable to form to the right size of your teeth. They are nothing like the teeth guards that are used to protect the teeth from harm while playing sports.
 

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