Grind guards

[BaconTastesGood]

So for like a decade I've been told I need to wear a night guard/grind guard, whatever. Like a dork I've fought it because I can't even wear a regular mouthguards without gagging. But it's getting bad enough that I may just have to deal.

I've heard a lot of conflicting stuff about the whole grinding ("bruxism" or something) thing, including:

- you shouldn't wear a grind guard, because it just reinforces the habit
- soft mouth guards work just as well
- you need a customized grind guard to ensure proper "TMJ neutral alignment"
- it's all a scam by the great Dental Conspiracy

So anyone here have wisdom on the subject?

[Lunch of Kong]

Yes. Take it out before getting intimate with your partner.

[Kunikos]

All I know is that a night guard is really quite expensive, since they have to custom fit them for you.

Personally, I don't grind, I just close my teeth together once really hard unconsciously as I fall asleep. Once in a blue moon I catch myself doing it, and it feels really awful (the vibration goes through the teeth into the jaw).

[Machfive]

I swear by my NTI. It's the only thing that keeps my TMD in check. When it's lovemaking time, yeah, you gotta get outta bed and put the thing away, but if your partner isn't a total asshole, they won't bug you about it.

[Brendan]

No! Now I won't be able to get that song by Therapy? out of my mind for the next few days...

[Rimbo]

Been there, done that, BTG. What I found was that when my stress at work decreased and I learned to relax before going to sleep, my grinding stopped.

Try to make sure the last hour before you go to bed has no web-surfing, only passive activities like reading a book or listening to music. Then, when you lie down in bed, consciously spend time relaxing every muscle in your body. Imagine giving your body the same sort of flop a cat has when you pick it up, to where the bed is supporting you, and you're not tense anywhere.

Focus on relaxing specific points that seem to drive the rest of the body: Your eyes, slackening your jaw, and relaxing your thumbs.

The aim here is not so much to focus on going to sleep but to focus on resting the physical body. You'll find it affects the mind as well.

Anyhow, I managed to be able to give up on the mouth guard that way.

[tromik]

Last year I was grinding my teeth every night and waking up with sore jaws and headaches. I think I must have started grinding in the day without realizing it. I didn't have dental coverage, and didn't think I could afford a grind guard.

I went to a local pharamacy one day, for something else, and asked the pharmacist if they had any guards. They had a few, but I went with a Dr. Night Guard, which comes in small, medium, and large, but they differences aren't that big. I went with a medium.

You take it home, throw it in boiling water, let it cool for just a few seconds, and jam it in your gob to form the mold. Then you put it in cold water. It's a temporary thing, but it lasted me about a month, and I went throught about 8 in a year. I'd put it in at night and would wear it during the day if I was sitting in front of the TV or PC or reading. Holy crap would I grind while reading.

Each guard ran me about $20 CAD. Eventually I just stopped grinding. I catch myself doing in the day sometimes, but I never wake up with sore jaws anymore.

Guard is always going to be better than no guard. You'll just ruin your morals without one.

[tromik]

No! Now I won't be able to get that song by Therapy? out of my mind for the next few days...
And thinking like that you won't make any friends.

[JPR]

Guard is always going to be better than no guard. You'll just ruin your morals without one.

I enjoyed that typo more than most.

[Kunikos]

Yes. Take it out before getting intimate with your partner.

Well, unless you aren't going to be kissing anyway.

[tromik]

I enjoyed that typo more than most.
We were talking about Jesus Brand Night Guards, right?