Over one million people in the USA alone wake up each morning in pain from nighttime teeth grinding and clenching (bruxism). You might think that these people remaining in pain means they don't have dentists. Actually most of them have dentists. Unfortunately, while the typical dentist is an expert at preventing tooth damage and repairing damaged teeth, the typical dentist is taught little or nothing in dental school about the psychology of habits, and long-term teeth grinding and clenching is a habit most people would very much like to kick.
So what does to for a person to rid himself or herself of the habit of nighttime teeth grinding and clenching? As you might suspect from thinking about like smoking, drinking, over-eating, or nail biting, different things work for different people. The "solution" most often recommended by dentists is a custom-made mouth guard.
The custom mouth guards that dentists recommend come in many varieties, most costing between $500 and $800. There is strong disagreement between dentists on which is the "best" type of mouth guard to use. Some are made by vacuum-molding a hot thin sheet of plastic over a plaster replica of your upper teeth. Some cast acrylic, made in a mold made from an impression of both your upper and lower teeth.
Lots of people follow their dentist's recommendation and spend between $500 and $800 for a custom-made mouth guard. Once you have spent your money, you get to find out if you are someone whose nighttime clenching gets worse or better when you wear your new mouth guard.
"Wait a minute" you might say, "did you say my clenching could get worse?" It certainly could. You see, the problem is that while mouth guards obviously protect your teeth, they don't necessarily make you bite less. The nature of the tooth grinding and clenching habit for some people is that a mouth guard is more of an annoyance to be chewed through than a signal to relax.
Most mouth guards go between your upper and lower molars, preventing upper tooth enamel from touching lower tooth enamel, and spreading the load if you clench your teeth. The load-spreading idea is that if you keep clenching, the mouth guard will help you do less damage. Sometimes this may work. Unfortunately in some cases the damage done can be significantly worse with a mouth guard.
Some brands of mouth guards (for instance the "NTI") are made to snap on to your front teeth and keep your molars from touching when you bite. The theory here is that such a front-teeth mouth guard will feel so different when you bite on it that your mind will know (even subconsciously) that something is not right when you bite, so you will not bite down hard. There are cases where that seems to work. Unfortunately, for the cases where it does not work, biting down on a front-tooth-only guard such as the NTI can cause serious damage.
Fortunately, there are many ways to kick the teeth grinding and clenching habit other than sticking a mouth guard in your mouth. Some methods don't cost anything to try, some are moderately expensive to try, and some can be rather expensive to try. In some cases the cost is less of an issue because of a money-back guarantee, but unfortunately some of the expensive things to try have no such guarantee. Different methods that people have successfully used to get themselves out of the teeth grinding and clenching habit include: massage, diet changes, biofeedback, hypnosis, changing to a new pillow or mattress pad, using a soothing sound machine, chiropractic work, meditation, and other positive psychology practices.
It could be considered ironic that mouth guards sold by dentists not only lack any guarantee that they will reduce your clenching, but they are also among the most expensive possible solutions you can try for teeth grinding and clenching. This might be a super deal for your dentist, but not a good deal for you. Another option is to first try an over-the-counter mouth guard from a pharmacy. Over-the-counter mouth guards are much less expensive, and you can easily custom mold them to your teeth at home. - 29879
So what does to for a person to rid himself or herself of the habit of nighttime teeth grinding and clenching? As you might suspect from thinking about like smoking, drinking, over-eating, or nail biting, different things work for different people. The "solution" most often recommended by dentists is a custom-made mouth guard.
The custom mouth guards that dentists recommend come in many varieties, most costing between $500 and $800. There is strong disagreement between dentists on which is the "best" type of mouth guard to use. Some are made by vacuum-molding a hot thin sheet of plastic over a plaster replica of your upper teeth. Some cast acrylic, made in a mold made from an impression of both your upper and lower teeth.
Lots of people follow their dentist's recommendation and spend between $500 and $800 for a custom-made mouth guard. Once you have spent your money, you get to find out if you are someone whose nighttime clenching gets worse or better when you wear your new mouth guard.
"Wait a minute" you might say, "did you say my clenching could get worse?" It certainly could. You see, the problem is that while mouth guards obviously protect your teeth, they don't necessarily make you bite less. The nature of the tooth grinding and clenching habit for some people is that a mouth guard is more of an annoyance to be chewed through than a signal to relax.
Most mouth guards go between your upper and lower molars, preventing upper tooth enamel from touching lower tooth enamel, and spreading the load if you clench your teeth. The load-spreading idea is that if you keep clenching, the mouth guard will help you do less damage. Sometimes this may work. Unfortunately in some cases the damage done can be significantly worse with a mouth guard.
Some brands of mouth guards (for instance the "NTI") are made to snap on to your front teeth and keep your molars from touching when you bite. The theory here is that such a front-teeth mouth guard will feel so different when you bite on it that your mind will know (even subconsciously) that something is not right when you bite, so you will not bite down hard. There are cases where that seems to work. Unfortunately, for the cases where it does not work, biting down on a front-tooth-only guard such as the NTI can cause serious damage.
Fortunately, there are many ways to kick the teeth grinding and clenching habit other than sticking a mouth guard in your mouth. Some methods don't cost anything to try, some are moderately expensive to try, and some can be rather expensive to try. In some cases the cost is less of an issue because of a money-back guarantee, but unfortunately some of the expensive things to try have no such guarantee. Different methods that people have successfully used to get themselves out of the teeth grinding and clenching habit include: massage, diet changes, biofeedback, hypnosis, changing to a new pillow or mattress pad, using a soothing sound machine, chiropractic work, meditation, and other positive psychology practices.
It could be considered ironic that mouth guards sold by dentists not only lack any guarantee that they will reduce your clenching, but they are also among the most expensive possible solutions you can try for teeth grinding and clenching. This might be a super deal for your dentist, but not a good deal for you. Another option is to first try an over-the-counter mouth guard from a pharmacy. Over-the-counter mouth guards are much less expensive, and you can easily custom mold them to your teeth at home. - 29879
About the Author:
Monitor your nighttime clenching with the SleepGuard EMG measurement headband. It is the best way to compare the effectiveness of different things you try in your quest to stop the teeth grinding and clenching habit. Used in biofeedback mode, the SleepGuard headband can also be used with or without hypnosis to help you severley reduce or eliminate your nighttime teeth grinding and clenching.
