Bruxism, tmj and headaches

judgefudge

Hey guys,

I'm havin a lot of trouble at the moment with headaches. I have suffered with Bruxism (when I sleep) since I can remember. All through childhood. A couple of years ago it got worse through stress and work. I developed some symptoms of tmj. My jaw wouldn't open fully and I was getting a lot of headaches and clicking of the jaw. I even woke up a few times from actually hurting my teeth.

This prompted me to go to a dentist and get a night guard. It was the cheapest price I could find at the time (being a student) and probably a bad choice of night guard. It is silicone and 3mm thick I think. Anyway it works in that it protects my teeth but I think the rubber feeling had exacerbated my need to clench. I no longer get the clicking jaw but the headaches continued and I get like muscle spasms (I think) around the side of my jaw.

I was referred to an orofacial pain specialist by my dentist. He put me on muscle relaxants at night for 3 months to break the habit. He also suggested I get a better mouth guard.

The problem is that I can't afford any of this treatment. It nearly bankrupted me to go to him in the first place (300euro) and a good quality nightguard would be another 500euro according to him.

I have headaches on a daily basis now which interfere with my stressful work. It would take me a long time to save that much money and I don't know if there's anything else I can do? Anyone been through this?

btkm8unsl0w5r4

I have been saying for ages on here that these soft bouncy castle splints are cheap because they are rubbish and make problems worse, you would have been better not using it at all.

As for the money issue thats around the price for a good splint from a specialist. Either borrow the money, get it off you parents or friends. If thats not a possibility go to the dental hospital and see if they will help.

Susie564

I use one of these soft splints and I was wearing it at night time, as instructed by my dentist, but my consultant told me not to wear it for more than two hours in the evening. He did say something about it making me clench more, can't remember exactly, but he said I would need it more after surgery??? (I'm not a grinder btw) I do find that it eases the pain, not sure how it works tho.

As far as cheapo remedies - for me the most successful has been a heat pillow (applied accross the cheekbones/forehead/shoulders), olibas oil, sudafed (I guess alot of my pain is caused by congestion - not sure if that's the same for everyone - but even when I don't feel congested I find that these still sometimes help). I was on muscle relaxants for a while but I didn't find that they helped all that much with the exception of helping me sleep better but only for a very short while.

Susie564

Susie564 wrote: »

As far as cheapo remedies - for me the most successful has been a heat pillow (applied accross the cheekbones/forehead/shoulders), olibas oil, sudafed (I guess alot of my pain is caused by congestion - not sure if that's the same for everyone - but even when I don't feel congested I find that these still sometimes help). I was on muscle relaxants for a while but I didn't find that they helped all that much with the exception of helping me sleep better but only for a very short while.

Also, none of these things make it go away completely but they do help. From what I have learnt over the last year or so there's not a whole lot else to be done???? I got seen publically, so that part's not cost me anything, and am waiting for surgery but that's not needed for most cases AFAIK. Don't ask why mine is different, I've no idea! Most seem to be advised to wear the splint, stretches, rest & soft food diet and just put up with the constant pain

That was all a bit of a ramble, but I hope I've been of some help