I grind my teeth, especially in my sleep.
Tuesday morning, I woke up with horrible shooting pains in the hinge of my jaw, which have gradually subsided since.
I saw my dentist today, and after prescribing a heavy duty anti-inflammatory, he suggested I look in to this thing in lieu of the usual mouth plate that they prescribe for people with TMJ.
Anybody got one? How well has it worked? Do you wear it mostly when sleeping, or during the day, too?
How about a ballpark on the cost? I’ve got a fairly basic DMO plan, and I don’t know if it’d be covered.
Thanks.
I got one a few months ago. I wear mine at night. It clips over the top two front teeth, and a short bar extends out behind - this is what keeps you from getting your teeth together to clench.
I didn’t really notice the results because I stll have some slight stiffness, and other factors which cause neck and shoulder pain. After a while, though, I realized that my jaw is no longer opening with a “pop!” and shooting pain. So overall, I would say it’s been helpful.
They cost around $400 or so. My insurance would have covered mine, had I not used up all my benefits on a root canal earlier this year. (Need for root canal, BTW, was due to cracked tooth which got infected. Cracks in tooth were due to grinding. Something else to think about.)
I have the full top plate mouth guard for my grinding and clenching - I’m curious to know about the differences between the two devices. The full plate seems to be helping, but I could see where a small device just on my front teeth would help, too, and not be as awkward to sleep in (I can’t keep my lips closed over the full one, so I’m drooling all night long).
I used to date a dentist and he made one for me. It covered my two front teeth and had a small extender type bar that would not allow me to clench.
I hated it though. It was not comfortable and I was slightly afraid it would slip and fall in my throat as I slept.
My jaw does still pop all the time though, maybe I should have stuck with it. My teeth have since shifted and it no longer fits.