Menopause Discussion > Other Health Discussion

Teeth Grinding (Bruxism)

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Foxylady:
 If anyone else has experience of this, or suspect it may be a cause or factor in poor sleep could you share your stories.
I might aswell start in order. Around two appointments ago (last year) at dentist she asked me if I grind my teeth, I replied sternly 'NO', however I have been having increasing problems with neck, jaw, ear pain and almost sinusy type headache (bothersome but not painful enough to take analgesia). Also my sleep has never really got to a point I'm happy with. I have been attending an osteopath fortnightly with the neck, shoulder pains (initially thought it was from falling off my bike, months ago) she has told me it is stress related and given me specific exercises to help with the jaw, my movements are now limited on the (R) side, embarrasingly so - difficulty chewing & opening my mouth to put food in!! Anyway decided to 'Google' this week and I am now certain I have been grinding my teeth as the symptoms all fit, got dentist appointment Tues am to get fitted for a mouth guard (privately, ?10 dearer than on NHS and ASAP appointment, for NHS they have to get written approval).
Anway, sorry it's long winded but according to sleep websites aswell as dental ones, a large proportion of those who teeth grind at night do not know they are doing it until they suffer symptoms, mainly stress and sleep disorder related. x

Dierdre:
Hi Foxylady, i lost a back tooth to this, cracked it right down to the root and had to have it pulled.  I didnt know i was grinding, was caused by stress from work.   Try doing things to relief the stress, easier said than done i know and wear the mouth guard.

Countrygirl:
I also have damaged teeth and have to wear a nightguard, was told to learn to relax or if that fails do some jaw exercises before bed. I didn't even realise i was doing it, it was the dentist that discovered it as had a really tight jaw muscle too x
I paid privately too as was slightly cheaper than nhs and quicker x

jillydoll:
My son has a guard too. He woke every morning with neck and head pain. He'd been grinding   his teeth down considerably according to the dentist, but of course he didn't know.
He wears the guard every night. Doesn't bother him. xx

Wrensong:
Hi Foxy, another grinder/clencher here!  Dentist first alerted me many years ago to the fact I was grinding my teeth in my sleep when he detected characteristic signs of wear.  At that time I didn't know the damage could be more significant than a bit of light wear & tear & a mouthguard wasn't suggested until some years later.  I then worked my way through a series of mouthguards, both soft & hard types, but found I was waking in the night clenching on the guards, my jaw aching & indeed managed to damage several of them.  I also had problems getting my mouth open wide enough to eat, as the jaw muscles became too tight & for a while I was having daily headaches which a Neurologist thought could be a result of the bruxism. 

Like Dierdre I then broke a top rear tooth, right down the middle through the root & it had to be extracted & that was despite having worn a mouthguard every night for years.  The dentist showed me the extracted tooth in 2 pieces & said what I'd done was shocking & something she herself feared, also having bruxism.  I was referred to the dental hospital to see whether the gap could be bridged & the Cons there said the wear pattern was of clenching rather than grinding.  It felt kinda hopeless as I'd been wearing the guards religiously every night yet had still managed to break the tooth doing something over which I seemed to have no control.  Everyone advised getting stress under control, which is often easier said than done  ::), but at least something we can work on!

So, I'd echo what the other ladies have said about tackling stress - at the time I broke that tooth at the height of peri I was under a lot of stress.  I got interested in mindfulness & began daily meditation practice and made sure to exercise, but not to the point of exhaustion, as counter-intuitively, that seemed to make my already poor sleep even worse.

A new dentist then suggested that as I was still waking up clenching on the guard - in his words my subconscious obviously didn't like what it perceived as an obstruction in my mouth - I should stop wearing the guard every night & use it only at times of significant stress.  So that's what I've done the past few years.  I've broken no more teeth & though my jaw's still tight it's not painful & I can open my mouth normally now.  Generally I think advice is to wear the guard every night, so I'd do whatever your dentist recommends.  Give the guard a try & see how you get on with it, bearing in mind there are different types if you don't get on well with the first.  If you have a hard guard & find it uncomfortable at first do go back & get them to grind down any parts that rub.  But do also see whether there's any more you can do to reduce stress in your life. :)
Wx

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