No, despite the hopes & prayers of certain nameless persons in the BBQ Pit, I was not punched in the face.
Yet.
Been to the dentist.
Ever since 9/11, I’ve been grinding my molars in my sleep. Cracked a tooth earlier this month. Fitted for a crown today. Early next month, the crown gets fitted. My share after insurance= $390. :smack:
Doctor Bingham had trouble getting me injected, & the hypo filled my mouth with Novocaine. Tastes awful.
My jaw/ face is sore from the drilling.
At very least they didn’t uncover a nerve with the hypo. Good luck.
I hope you feel better soon.
My husband developed TMJ in the past year from teeth grinding (he’s been under an incredible amount of stress) and wore the enamel damn near off his teeth, lost a filling and cracked a tooth. Plus, horrible jaw pain and headaches.
He’s had the filling and tooth fixed, and used various remedies to ease the pain and tension in his jaw with some success. Apparently, he needs a night guard of some sort to prevent further grinding or he’ll just damage the teeth again.
Will they fit you for a nightguard so you don’t hurt all your shiny new dental work?
Aiiii… Feel better, Bosda.
My mother hates Novocaine, too. One of the things she hates about it is how difficult it is to put lipstick on correctly afterward. She once asked her (male) dentist if he knew how hard it was to put lipstick on after having Novocaine. He gave her a weird look, and said, “No, I can’t say I do”.
On my insurance? Hmph. :dubious:
Here is my thread about getting a bite guard. Here is what I learned about the bite guard after the thread died: it is made the way it is in order to prevent my from locking my teeth when I’m grinding them. That’s why it’s so bulky over the top teeth; it creates a flat plain going back from my front teeth, so that when I grind my bottom jaw against it, the teeth just slide around.
By the way, it doesn’t fit perfectly and ends up putting all of the pressure on three teeth. Result, those teeth really hurt when I wear the bite guard–and usually my teeth don’t hurt at all if I don’t. I don’t think I am a real tooth grinder.
plain? plane? plane.
Lack of money and/or good insurance causes stress. And then of course, the stress makes us grind our teeth. Which makes us need money and/or insurance for dental treatment. It’s all a vicious cycle.
Seriously, I hope everything works out for you. We’re both waiting to have additional work done too.
If your insurance won’t pay for a custom mouthguard, a workaround could be to get a sports mouthguard. It might not be as comfortable or stay in as well as a custom one, but it would be better than nothing, I think.
I wonder if the SleepRight Night Guard works at all? I know I grind my teeth like crazy (I bit through my last guard and can’t afford to replace it yet) and it would be nice not to have something too bulky. The site says it’s not for TMJ, but I wonder if it’s decent just for run of the mill bruxism? Has anybody heard anything about this one or tried it?
I’m just finishing a root canal/crown myself. Uninsured, it is costing between $1600.00 and $1700.00!
Sure feels better, though.
My DH has the same problem right now. He cracked a tooth from grinding and clenching and is wearing the temporary crown right now. It’s been terrible on him, he thinks he either needs a root canal or an extraction. I really feel for you, I see what it has done to my DH over the past few weeks. Lots of pain, lots of advil.
I had TMJ surgery this time last year. I have been clenching and grinding for the past few years and finally my right side fell out of socket and I was locked shut for about 6 weeks until I was able to have something done. It’s not fun. Even for a couple months after the surgery, you can’t open your mouth very much.
I picked up a Doctor’s Night Guard and it works wonders. You boil it and clench down so it fits your teeth. At the very least, it’ll postpone when my left side will lock up. I’ve been really, really, really stressed lately (my BIL’s wife accused him of domestic violence and he’s the type who would cry if he accidentally ran over a frog, had to bail him out of jail, go to court, now we’re trying to get him through the divorce and upcoming court dates . . . such a mess, maybe I’ll open a pit thread) and my jaw has been aching and the muscles have been tense. But I can’t wear the night guard all day, I have to go to work and all.
Luckily, I haven’t cracked any teeth yet. But my poor DH has and it has been excrutiating on him. Hope you feel better soon!
There’s a lot of TMJ on this board. There are three threads I can remember responding to - it’s too bad TMJ is too short to search.
In any event, mine is under control. Other than relaxation etc, I should highly, highly recommend magnesium. I was in agony, migranes, face pain, couldn’t eat, etc. I didn’t get a bite guard - no insurance, here in socialist Canada I couldn’t get anyone to look at my face because it is a “dentist” problem and dentists aren’t covered by publich health insurance. I spent $65 on a five-minute consultation with an oral surgeon who said “There’s nothing we can do except pain reduction, come back in a month if it still hurts and we’ll make you a splint.” I didn’t ask how much that would cost because I figured it would make me grind my teeth even more.
So I tried yoga and relaxation to stop the grinding (I can tell you my technique if you want) and (key!) took MAGNESIUM, and the problem is gone. Gone! Magnesium Yay!
Hubby had a similar experience. The dentist gave him all the home remedies to try (as if we hadn’t done any research while he was in agony for months) and charged him a big chunk of change, advising him to come back for a custom guard. He tried a Doctor’s Night Guard but it just couldn’t fit his mouth properly and he gagged on the extra material. He has a really small jaw.
He has had some success with home care, but he’s still damaging his teeth with grinding. The jaw pain is not as intense since he started alternating heat and cold packs every day and eating only soft food.
In the thread that Sattua linked to, I see that someone had success with Elavil. He’s going to talk to his doctor about it.
Thanks for the magnesium tip. I shall let my husband know. Can’t hurt, right?