Teeth grinding in sleep

lydiabehan · 01-12-2007 2:16am #1

my boyfriend has started grinding his teeth in his sleep. it started about 2months ago for no apparent reason(or maybe i just started waking up to it then!). does anyone know of any ways of stopping this? i try just waking him up but he starts again when he goes back to sleep. the only thing that seems to work is to hold his jaw for a few seconds but that's a bit creepy for him if he wakes up to me doing it obv!! please help!!:)

I Shot J.R. · 01-12-2007 2:34am

If it started out of the blue it could be stress or anxiety causing it. I've heard of people using the cheap drop in boiling water for 10 seconds gumshields to stop damage but I personally would be a bit freaked out with a fear of choking etc. My friend goes out with a girlfriend that grinds her teeth and found a novel solution - he goes to bed before her! Could ask a dentist at next check up, they probably hear about it a lot.

Lil' Smiler · 04-12-2007 10:20pm

my bf does it too, it's really freaky sometimes isn't it??

get him an indian head massage to try it out, can help relieve tension in the muscles of head,face and neck which can encourage teeth grinding.

it's a different sound sometimes with my bf, sometimes it's like hes munching on some popcorn in the cinema and then like he's cracking.. i dunno popcorn seeds in his mouth, very odd. he's aware he's doing it sometimes.

i'd say also it can prob be due to a trip to the dentist needed!!

Ammunition_Magi · 09-12-2007 6:12pm

I grind my teeth in my sleep and have been doing it from since i can remember ... i have to wear a gumshield everynight. its a very common thing,ask a dentist. dont let it go unchecked as it can destroy your teeth,my front 4 top teeth got so eroded that i had to get new porcelain ones which,by the way,cost a fortune.

Tar.Aldarion · 09-12-2007 6:17pm

I lived with a girl that did this, she got a mouth guard to protect her teeth when she sleeps, I suggest you do the same.
I imagine it is due to anxiety.
Best of luck.

mkem · 09-12-2007 6:19pm

Hi, It costs about 200 - 250 euros to get one of those gum shields, wife got one two weeks ago. However, I spotted these shields in Boots Chemist just this weekend for 35 euros. I know which one I'd try first !!

Tar.Aldarion · 09-12-2007 6:21pm

Eh, get a rugby one, they are really cheap.
200-250e, jesus!

DublinWriter · 09-12-2007 6:23pm

mkem wrote: »

Hi, It costs about 200 - 250 euros to get one of those gum shields, wife got one two weeks ago. However, I spotted these shields in Boots Chemist just this weekend for 35 euros. I know which one I'd try first !!

200-250? My Dentist charges about 150 for a bite-plane, and he's one of the most expensive in Dublin. Where are you getting that figure from?

I've had lots of bad experiences with bite-planes in the past, typically I feel that I'll do more damage wearing one than not, typically because they are made out of very hard compound plastic.

My step-uncle is a dental-technician in the UK. If the new bite-plane that my dentist is having made gives me grief, he said that he'll try and make me up a soft-rubber one.

I did suggest this to my dentist originally, but he didn't have a clue as what an awful lot of what they do in this department is outsourced to dental technicians anyway.

Catari Jaguar · 03-01-2008 7:47pm

mkem wrote: »

Hi, It costs about 200 - 250 euros to get one of those gum shields, wife got one two weeks ago. However, I spotted these shields in Boots Chemist just this weekend for 35 euros. I know which one I'd try first !!

Dentist tooth guards are not gum shields. They are a perfect mould of your teeth so they don't come out at night. They are made from a different material too.

They are super expensive. 270e for mine and I literally chewed through it until it split in about 6 months. The grinding/ biting in an unconscious state is up to 10 times stonger than when you are awake and can actually crack and shatter your teeth :eek:

It's probably nothing to do with stress (thats a common misconception) and is more likely to be a condition called Bruxism. If his teeth seem blunt and his jaw/ temples hurt to touch than he's been doing it for a long time. The longer it's left untreated the worse it gets and soon enough teeth will be so worn down that nerves will be expsed and they wont even be possible to cap!

sushisushi · 31-10-2008 10:15pm

Man, 270e for a tooth guard is a lot of money. I'm on my third one (changing job and serious parental illness taking its toll), but I got them through the dental hospital for about 35e a time! My dentist referred me there when she figured out what was going on and they're great. A certain amount of the treatment is by dental students, but it's mostly the diagnostic/case history taking parts, and the consultant is really excellent.

Karmaa · 05-11-2008 11:29pm

I grind my teeth in my sleep but only now and then when severely stressed out or when I've had one too many drinks.....there is no cure for this and luckily I don't do it all the time..... My sister has to wear one of those shields she looks a picture with it in :pac: but it works!!!

Mc Love · 27-11-2008 7:23pm

Tis a really creepy noise!!

RPGGAMER · 30-11-2008 6:52pm

lydiabehan wrote: »

my boyfriend has started grinding his teeth in his sleep. it started about 2months ago for no apparent reason(or maybe i just started waking up to it then!). does anyone know of any ways of stopping this? i try just waking him up but he starts again when he goes back to sleep. the only thing that seems to work is to hold his jaw for a few seconds but that's a bit creepy for him if he wakes up to me doing it obv!! please help!!:)

he has worms. get some worm tablets at the chemist and deworm him.

cool username · 02-12-2008 6:14pm

Kiss him! My boyfriend does this too and if I kiss him he stops.. of course its not a permanent solution....

JordanDC · 21-12-2008 10:07pm

I also grind my teeth in my sleep, currently using the gum shield thingy, having Craniosacral work done on my mouth at the moment which will hopefully help.

seanybiker · 21-12-2008 10:13pm

I do it aswell but Im on tablets and everything for fairly bad anxiety all the time so I just put it down to that.

johndaman66 · 11-01-2009 7:56pm

I was at the dentist circa 4 to 5 months ago to get some fillings and by the way she was talking most people do this in their sleep to a greater or lesser extent. I seriously didn't think I did but then again how would I be aware of whether I did or not. It can be quite a serious source of wear and tear on teeth.

carrickmilo · 04-11-2009 10:52am

Clenching or grinding is the brain's unconscious way of trying to get the jaw into the correct position. It happens when the bite is 'off'.

Stress is a red herring although having a bad bite with the resulting problems is certainly stressful.

There are specialists who can treat this. Try the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain. They have a referral area with Irish members

Macca07 · 06-11-2009 11:42am

My girlfriend tells me I do this quite a bit. And I was talking to my friend about this and she has damaged something in her jaw because of it

Gone Drinking · 06-11-2009 12:12pm

I read somewhere that its been linked with chewing, chewing gum.. does he chew, chewing gum?

If so, tell him to cut out the chewing gum for a few weeks and see if that helps.

My bird does it the odd time, she doesn't believe me when i tell her she does it.. she chews alot of chewing gum

etravels · 10-11-2009 12:42pm

folks,

When I got my veneers done by the best dentist in Dublin (shelbourne Centre) he advised me for the first time in 32 years that my jaw is not aligned correctly hence that I grind my teeth. It has nothing to do with stress etc, it all depends on you mouth and if your teeth are aligned correctly!!! I never knew this and he showed me pictures of people who grind their teeth and how i could look if I didnt look after it.!
Simple - i use as specially formualted gum shield by the dentist, formed for my teeth only and only use on the top teeth...Its a bit uncomfortable at first but rest assure it work wonders. I change it every 6-8 months and usually end up broken so that will tell you how much grinding I am doing! imagine if not guard was used???? Folks they are expensive but hey worth it to have beautiful teeth.....

michelplatini · 01-12-2009 6:58pm

It's tension or insecurity etc thats now a subconscious habit.
Losing a job, worry about it, losing or worry about losing a security
and not knowing how to deal with that yet can cause it to go subconscious.
If the fear materialises it would most likely get worse.

Catari Jaguar · 01-12-2009 11:20pm

michelplatini wrote: »

It's tension or insecurity etc thats now a subconscious habit.
Losing a job, worry about it, losing or worry about losing a security
and not knowing how to deal with that yet can cause it to go subconscious.
If the fear materialises it would most likely get worse.

No it's not!! It's not psychological it's physiological.

I had to get a new bite splint because my grinding is so bad. It cost 1200e for the splint and visits. I lost it though :eek: I got a back tooth taken out when I was 12. The gap closed, shifting all my teeth and this misalligned my bite. Once my wisdom teeth cut in, they pushed also and made it worse.

My canine is rotated so badly I have a huge gap. This is because I push it out with my lower teeth when I'm asleep. I'm considering braces to fix it once I have enough PRSI paid.

I grinded for years and years before it was discovered by my boyf. My canines are flat and my teeth are chipped at the bottom. My teeth are very sensitive. I need to get veneers.

Get a bite splint to stop the clenching, it's really thick so you eventually keep your teeth from meeting and the temple headaches disappear. If you just want to protect your teeth you need a tooth guard.

smelltheglove · 04-12-2009 6:02pm

carrickmilo wrote: »

Clenching or grinding is the brain's unconscious way of trying to get the jaw into the correct position. It happens when the bite is 'off'.

Stress is a red herring although having a bad bite with the resulting problems is certainly stressful.

There are specialists who can treat this. Try the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain. They have a referral area with Irish members

Could be a good argument. I used to grind my teeth something terrible, especially when stressed. I havent done it in quite a while as far as I know but I do have an under developed jaw also, when I was young the dentist wanted me to get one of those braces you put over your head at night to pull it forward.

To another post above I never ever chewed gum in my life, i ditest it so for me it wouldnt have been down to that.

I lost one tooth in each of my two pregnancies most likely down to the grinding along with the lesser amounts of calcium during pregnancy, funny thing was the second one I lost was directly under hte first one. Thankfully both back teeth so no expensive replacements.

Big_G · 04-12-2009 6:33pm

DublinWriter wrote: »

200-250? My Dentist charges about 150 for a bite-plane, and he's one of the most expensive in Dublin. Where are you getting that figure from?

I've had lots of bad experiences with bite-planes in the past, typically I feel that I'll do more damage wearing one than not, typically because they are made out of very hard compound plastic.

My step-uncle is a dental-technician in the UK. If the new bite-plane that my dentist is having made gives me grief, he said that he'll try and make me up a soft-rubber one.

I did suggest this to my dentist originally, but he didn't have a clue as what an awful lot of what they do in this department is outsourced to dental technicians anyway.

Rubbish. First, a dental technician does not know more than a dentist about cranio-facial pain, occlusal traumatism, parafunctional habits, or treatment thereof. They do not see patients clinically, and do not have the training for diagnosis or treatment.

That being said, there is not a lot of consensus about treatment. I do know one thing though, soft mouth guards increase muscle activity and hard mouth guards reduce muscle activity.

The hard plastic is there to stimulate nociceptive (pain) fibres in order to engage the protective reflex of the mouth to prevent tooth damage. This stops or reduces muscle activity.

Taltos · 05-12-2009 1:18am

I was fitted for one of those shields a while ago.
Chose to stop using it after 5 wks or so when I woke up trying to eat and swallow (yes swallow) it - think you can guess what woke me up.

Casei11 · 23-12-2009 6:48pm

Taltos wrote: »

I was fitted for one of those shields a while ago.
Chose to stop using it after 5 wks or so when I woke up trying to eat and swallow (yes swallow) it - think you can guess what woke me up.

haha brilliant

Kormeera X · 23-01-2010 12:33am

My cousin does that in his sleep. i've heard that its to do with anger, but dont know if thats true or not...

**Widens eyes**

-Corkie- · 31-01-2010 2:08am

I do it every night so my missus tells me. I not under stress though. I think that above po may be correct that incorrect jaw alingment may be the problem.. God the mods in boards will know more about me than my better half with all my posts:):):)

Catari Jaguar · 19-02-2010 9:52am

There's a new device out now to stop grinding. It goes over your top and bottom two front teeth and is connectd in the middle. Stops your teeth from closing on each other. Bite splints actually promote grinding because you're chewing the rubbery feeling tooth guard.

lil_lisa · 25-02-2010 7:22pm

I had half the amount of coffee yesterday from what I usually have (1 cup instead of two) and after work I went to the gym, then came home and cleaned up for like two hours, I was wrecked. This morning I woke up for the first time in along time without a sore jaw and teeth marks on my tongue!

Ginny · 14-03-2010 5:27pm

Lil Kitten wrote: »

There's a new device out now to stop grinding. It goes over your top and bottom two front teeth and is connectd in the middle. Stops your teeth from closing on each other. Bite splints actually promote grinding because you're chewing the rubbery feeling tooth guard.

Do you have any more info on this Lil Kitten, I clench my teeth every night and I'm pushing one of my lower teeth out right now...:(
Gum shields don't work as they don't stop the clenching down force on my lower teeth.

jiltloop · 07-04-2010 1:55pm

I sometimes have dreams where I'm eating and quite often I bite my lip which wakes me up fairly rapidly. Not sure if I grind my teeth regularly though.

Catari Jaguar · 10-04-2010 4:21pm

Ginny wrote: »

Do you have any more info on this Lil Kitten, I clench my teeth every night and I'm pushing one of my lower teeth out right now...:(
Gum shields don't work as they don't stop the clenching down force on my lower teeth.

Yea, it's called an NTI appliance. Seapoint Dental do them

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convert · 17-04-2010 11:36pm

I started grinding my teeth quite vigorously a while ago, but managed to stop it before it got too bad. I was just really, really stressed and the way it manifested itself was through grinding my teeth. Luckily it subsided pretty quickly, but I'm still clenching my jaw a bit but at least it's not as bad as teeth grinding.

A friend of mine grinds her teeth really really badly and has to wear a guard every time she sleeps. It's made out of plastic.

Definitely I'd get some sort of protection for your teeth and then work on trying to sort out what's causing you to grind your teeth.

MissHoneyBun · 20-04-2010 1:02am

I've been doing this for as long as I remember. Pretty stressed at the moment so been especially bad -walking up feeling like my head, jaws and teeth are going to explode from the pain. Need to start running again

carrickmilo · 03-09-2011 9:40pm

I stopped grinding once my lower jaw was moved forward with a repositioning appliance. I know this because a) my teeth aren't sore in the morning and b) there are no wear patterns on the appliance

matamoros1965 · 17-09-2011 4:55pm

I have a pain in my jaw on right side which I am assuming is me grinding at night. I have no extra anxiety in my life but I have started to go to bed earlier in the last two weeks when I'm not tired, I wake up a few times in the night and realise that I am not really deep sleeping. I'm wondering if not going into a deep enough sleep is encouraging anxiety type dreaming ( no disrespect intended to the people who propose the idea that anxiety is not the issue ). If this is a factor, I'd have to stay up until I was tired which is a shame 'cos I love bed!

goat2 · 29-10-2017 4:47pm

I am on lookout for good dentist any where in the country that has done this gum guard, to stop the grinding and causing terrible pain due to fifth craniel nerve

Teeth grinding in sleep

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