Clenching Jaw/Teeth ?

[Ashley0323]

I find that I chench my jaw, and teeth together, more so when Im more anxious.. Does this happen to anyone else? Its to the point where I am breaking parts of my back teeth off.

 

[hades_leae]

You should try to stop doing that because if you are chipping off your wisdom teeth, you will begin to feel so much pain over time and it will keep you up in the night. Your nerves in the back will become exposed and you will not be able to do anything because of the pain. I should know, it happened to me and I didn't have the money to go to the dentist, or get pain pills. I had to find natural ways to make the pain less severe, and that went on for like 3 weeks. I guess over time the skin covered it in a healing process I think and now it's fine, but you don't want wisdom pain.


Clenching your jaw is something I never heard someone do before, it sounds kind of painful, maybe you should keep some type of mouth piece that you could put in your mouth when it happens as you try to quit doing it, or go get some professional advice.

 

[Ashley0323]

Yes I am definitely looking into ways to stop it! It is something I have done since I was a child. I do it 24/7, even in my sleep. Its not painful, and most times my top and bottom teeth dont touch.. It's as if I am "locking my jaw in place". It's hard to explain.

 

[John Snort]

As @ Hades leau suggests maybe you should get a mouth guard? You can use it at night to prevent damage to the enamel of your teeth. In addition to that, you need to identify the triggers and deal with them because if you don't get anxious, you'll be fine. Something else you could try is meditation. It will help calm your mind down.

 

[kgord]

My first husband used to grind his teeth. He ended up having to get a dental appliance which was fairly expensive. It did keep him from grinding his teeth though. It was a good thing, because he was wearing them down and also causing significant jaw pain and headaches so it was well worthwhile to get a device of this type. I think nowadays these appiances are less costly, and can be a life saver. I just think it is good for those who need them.

 

[kelden]

I have a habit for clenching my teeth often, and I'm even clenching them right now. You know, sometimes I have gums inflammation behind my wisdom tooth, I hurts so bad when trying to clench my teeth, but I can't help hit but do it.

 

[Panic57]

I find that I clench my teeth together when I'm stressed out. I even do it in my sleep and wake up the next morning with a sore jaw. During the day, I've taken to gnawing on beef jerky, carrots, and peppers in the attempt to grind my teeth to nubs. I also sip on tea but that's just a distraction. If I'm stressed out, the only thing that really helps is to attach the root of the stress wether it's a bill or work. Only when it's gone does the stress reduce.

 

[Laneorexorcist]

I'm sorry to hear about your teeth, take care! :c


I actually don't have this problem when I am awake on a regular basis, but the problem is when I'm stressed out and I fall asleep, that's where I clench my jaw more and by the time that I wake up I feel like I hadn't any rest and all my neck and my jaw part hurts terribly.


Not a really nice feeling at all.

 

[Joel7050]

I do have a milder version of this, but don't use that much force to the point of breaking teeth. If you're anxious, try clenching your fists and squeezing hard, or tensing up your face, squeezing your muscles. It helps prevent you from clenching your jaws. If it does get worse, you may want to find a dentist that's able to get you something to help such as rubber guards on your teeth, if it does get that bad.

 

[Ashley0323]

My first husband used to grind his teeth. He ended up having to get a dental appliance which was fairly expensive. It did keep him from grinding his teeth though. It was a good thing, because he was wearing them down and also causing significant jaw pain and headaches so it was well worthwhile to get a device of this type. I think nowadays these appiances are less costly, and can be a life saver. I just think it is good for those who need them.

Yeah, thankfully I dont grind me teeth. The sound of teeth touching or rubbing together, or even the thought, makes me cringe. I just lock my jaw in place. Its weird and hard to explain,

 

[Ashley0323]

I find that I clench my teeth together when I'm stressed out. I even do it in my sleep and wake up the next morning with a sore jaw. During the day, I've taken to gnawing on beef jerky, carrots, and peppers in the attempt to grind my teeth to nubs. I also sip on tea but that's just a distraction. If I'm stressed out, the only thing that really helps is to attach the root of the stress wether it's a bill or work. Only when it's gone does the stress reduce.

Yes, this is exactly it! When I am stressed over finances, or late bills, kids , etc I clench my teeth. If I am stress free its not nearly as often. I sleep that way too, and I can feel the soreness by morning.

 

[Sunshine00]

Yes, I've had that problem too but after I became aware of it, I worked really hard on paying attention to my body so that I could stop it before it hurt. Don't get me wrong, I still do it but now I'm able to catch it at the stage where my upper body is tense and I find that I'm holding my jaw, head, neck and shoulders very rigid (as if I'm working out the muscles). I stretch a lot and take breaks more, even to just go outside and get fresh air. Hope it gets better for you!

 

[misszerable]

I used to clench my jaw and teeth, too, years ago and I did it frequently to calm myself and bring the rhythm back to my body whenever I'm rattled, anxious, or nervous. Clenching to me, then, was like what body English was to athletes - an action that will hopefully take me out of or make me forget an undesirable situation. But then, this is not just to echo what the others have said about the ill effects of jaw/teeth clenching to the teeth enamel, I noticed that I was also developing a square jaw and I wasn't happy because I have a petite frame and I'd look really awkward with it. That made me decide to push myself to stop the habit. It took some time and a lot of conscious effort to catch myself in the act.

 

[janemariesayed]

Actually, I do this quite a lot and never really thought about it having anything to do with anxiety. Reading your post I realise that of course, it is. When it happens, I place my tongue in the way betwixt my teeth. I hate the grinding feeling so I automatically place my tongue in the way.

 

[Natasha0717]

I do this almost every night! I wake up looking almost "beaten up." Just from all the force and pressure on my face from the constant clenching in my sleep.

I don't grind my teeth, I clench them. My doctor said it's a combination of fear and frustration. Other doctors (from what I've read online) say that the mind while at rest actually finds comfort by doing this. Comfort? How can hurting your own jaw and teeth all night bring comfort? But the only thing I've noticed that does work (somewhat) is not eating too much before bed. It seems your mind is less active and you rest a little more easily. My dentist made me a mouthpiece for it, but the only word that comes to mind whenever I think about this mouthpiece is USELESS. In fact, it makes my top and bottom teeth/jaw slide all over the place because it doesn't feel comfortable and I always end up taking it out. I would love to stop the clenching. My face is starting to show the terrible effects of it.

 

[janemariesayed]

Comfort? How can hurting your own jaw and teeth all night bring comfort?

People do different things for comfort. As a kind of release. It may be to punish themselves for example. Some people will cut themselves. They find that the pain release gives them a sense of calm because they feel they need to punish themselves.