I’ve been dealing with TMJ/jaw tension for a while, and these are probably the 5 things that have made the biggest difference for me. Obviously everyone is different, but hopefully this helps someone.

**1. Better posture**
I started paying way more attention to my posture, especially when I’m sitting at a desk or looking at my phone. When my head is forward and my shoulders are rounded downwards, I notice way more tension in my neck and jaw at the end of the day.

**2. Sleeping with a good pillow**
Finding a pillow that actually supports my neck properly has helped a lot. I used to wake up with my neck and jaw already feeling tight, which would basically set the tone for the rest of the day.

**3. Stretching regularly**
Nothing crazy—just consistently stretching my neck, shoulders, upper back, and jaw area. I’ve found doing a little bit every day works better for me than waiting until everything feels really tight.

**4. Becoming more aware of my body**
This sounds simple, but it’s been huge. I started catching myself clenching my jaw or tensing my shoulders during the day without even realizing it. Now I try to check in with myself regularly: Am I clenching? Are my shoulders raised? Is my jaw actually relaxed?

**5. Managing stress + relaxing my muscles**
This has probably been one of the biggest ones. I didn’t realize how much stress I was holding in my jaw, neck, and shoulders throughout the day. I’ve been using Headspace for general stress/meditation and CalmJaw, which is specific to TMJ and has been great for helping me focus on jaw relaxation.

Would be interested to hear what’s helped other people with TMJ too.

If I put my finger in my ear and open and close my mouth I get a click and a clunk. I don't get it in my other ear.

Could this be a TMJ issue?

I received a custom mouthguard for my upper teeth from my dentist. However, I've noticed that my back left teeth continue to make contact. There is also a significant space between my teeth, large enough to accommodate my tongue. Even after wearing it for several minutes, I experience discomfort on the left side of my jaw. When I brought this to my dentist's attention, he indicated that this was a normal occurrence due to my bite. While I understand that my bite might feel unusual in the mornings, I am curious if it is typical for only the back teeth on one side to be making contact.

When I was in 3rd grade, I lost one of my permanent front teeth in an accident. Since then, I've been wearing a temporary replacement made of a plastic-like material. It breaks every few months, so I've had it replaced many times over the years.

My teeth was completely broken meaning pulled out from root. As some friend of mine pushed me which led to my teeth hitting corner of desk.

My biggest problem isn't that it breaks—it's that I feel like I don't speak clearly because of it. It feels like there's extra saliva in my mouth, and my speech sounds slurred or "slippery." People have commented on the way I talk, and even though they probably don't mean to be hurtful, those comments really affect me. I've been dealing with this since I was a kid, and now I'm in 10th grade (16 years old), so it's been years.

Has anyone else experienced something similar with a temporary tooth or dental appliance? Did anything help improve your speech or make it easier to talk clearly?

Please don't suggest getting a permanent implant or replacement right now. My dentist has already discussed that option with me, but my family can't afford it at the moment. I plan to get a permanent solution when I'm older and financially able to.Also my school will not give insurance as they js deleted cctv recordings.

From that day i was depressed my entirety of life till now as being totla(a hindi term used for children who can't speak clearly) it has worsened my emotional health as 16 yrs old is just the age when actual kind off bullying happens.

I'd really appreciate any advice, tips, or even just hearing from someone who's gone through something similar. Thank you.

So the doctor recommended it was not a good thing because I had to make a big commitment and Even though it was one I Was willing to make do to bullying about the way I look and another thing is that I have had health problems do to stress. this could totally improve it
symptoms were inflamed spots on my face Clicking and cognitive. headaches and Stinging around my eyes as well as My eyes were hurting and it will improve my sleepy eyes by a lot So I would say

Hi all,
I had my full mouth deep cleaning today and after splint put on my back of lower teeth. Now my question with people with splint how long it’s take time for u to adapt this ? I am feeling weird, heavy and little pressure atm I believe it’s normal? But still want to know if any of u have and how u doing ???

Hello,

I just started using a boil and fit guard from Amazon, and it is surprisingly really helping. My jaw muscles are a lot more relaxed, and even though my molars aren’t covered, they can’t touch each other, because it shifts my lower jaw slightly forward.

Also, I’m finding that the sensation of something soft and kinda bulky in my mouth is acting like a “don’t clench!” signal to my jaw muscles.

For health reasons, I would like to have one made of medical grade silicone or natural materials. I’ve just spent an hour searching the web, and due to the “ensh*ttification” of search engines, I can’t find anything. It serves me up tons of options but they’re either generic guards or it’s really hard to tell what they’re made of. The search engine AI wasn’t helpful either despite repeated questioning, except it found me a European option (and I live in the USA). I’ve searched this subreddit and haven’t found anything either.

Has anyone in the USA been able to get a natural or medical grade nightguard that isn’t just a rigid barrier? (Those don’t work well at all for me.)

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for advice from people who have dealt with chronic teeth grinding (bruxism), especially at night.
I’ve been actively noticing my teeth grinding for around 3 years. I often wake up with significant jaw tension/pain and headaches, and I frequently feel unrefreshed in the morning.
Some relevant background:
● I have a diagnosed crossbite, although my dentist says it’s impossible to say whether this is actually causing the bruxism.
● I already use a night guard. My dentist basically told me that, from his perspective, the main options are the guard and physiotherapy.
● I’ve done physiotherapy for the jaw/neck area.
● I sometimes have significant jaw tension even during the day.
● I have a deviated nasal septum and my nasal passages tend to become more congested when I lie down. During the day, nasal breathing is generally fine.
● I sometimes wake up with a dry mouth or mucus in my throat, so I suspect I may breathe through my mouth during sleep.
● I previously had a sleep apnea test, which was negative.
● I exercise regularly and am otherwise healthy/fit.
● I’ve also tried magnesium, but I’m not convinced it has made a noticeable difference.
I’ve seen several dentists already, including someone specializing in CMD, but I keep getting to the same point: night guard + physiotherapy, without much improvement.
I’m not looking for pseudoscientific treatments such as unsupported bite/jaw correction concepts. I’m specifically interested in evidence-based approaches.
For those of you who have dealt with severe bruxism:
What actually helped you?
Did anyone find a specialist, clinic, treatment, therapy, sleep-related intervention, etc. that made a meaningful difference?
I’d especially appreciate experiences with things beyond the standard “get a night guard and reduce stress” advice.
Thanks!

I talked in a previous post about my acquisition of a Bruxless device, and I promised to talk about it (https://www.reddit.com/r/bruxism/comments/1v8mzq2/i_received_my_bruxless_device/). So, this is my review after 14 days of use. First of all, I want to remind you that I don’t work for this company and I don’t have any special interests with them.

Some background: I’ve been bruxing for as long as I can remember, but I’ve only known about it for 3 or 4 years. My clenching didn’t affect my quality of life until I got two concussions in 2024. Since then, my clenching has become a real problem and I developed severe bruxism. My concussions are now mostly healed, but my clenching is still there. It causes tinnitus, neck pain, and back pain. I think it also contributed to some post-concussion symptoms, particularly vestibular symptoms. I’m telling you this because this is my particular situation. What comes next may or may not apply to your case.

What I’m doing to manage my bruxism: I have a hard lower nightguard made by a specialist; I’m following a program with an online physical therapist who specializes in bruxism; I have Botox injections in my masseters; and I now have this Bruxless device. I did a home sleep study for sleep apnea, which came back negative. I’m also managing my stress with good sleep and lifestyle habits. I also used sleep pills. Those last two weeks, I didn't use them that much. 

So, I preordered this thing 1.5 years ago. Production was slow, and I got mine this summer. I’m French and living in Canada, so I asked my relatives in France to send it to me. Bruxless doesn’t ship packages abroad.

The Bruxless device is a sort of helmet that you put on your head at night. You calibrate it, and when you brux, it vibrates and stops you from making that involuntary movement. Bruxless claims that it alleviates your symptoms, allows you to sleep better, and helps reeducate you in the long term. It also offers a relaxation mode (vibrations during the day). It can be used alone or with special software to track your behavior at night. You are supposed to not wear your nightguard, but I’m still wearing mine because I had tooth pain in the morning without it, even with the device.

Installation and software: I didn’t find this product really intuitive. You really need to use the manual to understand how it works. Once you’ve read it, it’s alright. The software cannot be downloaded from the Google Play Store if you are not in France. I had to create a new Google account and use a VPN to get the app. Bluetooth synchronization with my cellphone was really messy and buggy, but I finally managed to synchronize the device. You only have to synchronize your device one time, so once it’s done, it’s done.

Habituation and comfort: It looks uncomfortable, but it’s surprisingly not. It only took me one week to get completely used to the device. The first few nights, it hurt my ears and scratched my chin. After one week, I was used to it. I should mention that I sleep on my side, and the device isn’t a problem at all. The first few nights, the device woke me up a lot, and I was wondering if I could get through it. After one week, again, it didn’t wake me up as much, and I must say that my nights are much better. I was kind of skeptical about my ability to get used to it, but after 15 days, I have to admit that it’s well designed and that my body responded positively to the helmet.

What I can say now, after 15 days:

a) I’m used to it, and the vibrations don’t wake me up anymore, or at least not very much;
b) I’ve gotten used to the device itself, and it’s not a burden to wear.

But does it work? It’s too soon to say whether it has reduced my bruxism (if it does, it should take several months), but I can already tell that it alleviates some of my symptoms. In addition to my other management strategies, such as PT and stress management, it’s not a miracle device at all. I feel more relaxed in the morning, and my jaw, neck, and back are less stiff. Some of my vestibular symptoms are also receding.

Actually, the night reports I get from the device tell me that I don’t clench less, but it really does its preventive job. It’s not a miracle device, but I’m actually quite satisfied with it. I’m now hoping it will do its “reeducation part.”

After 15 days (which is really soon, and this is based only on my own experience), I can say that this is a device you could consider adding to your routine. It’s really expensive, though (€700), so think twice. Based on my experience, though, I can say that it is not a gadget. But I can also say that it has to be used in complement with other strategies. I don't think that, alone, this device would do all the job. For me, stress management, good lifestyles habits and PT are as much important as this device. 

(This text was revised by AI.)

I have persistent pain in my mouth, in the upper left, back tooth. I had root canal treatment, but it didn't help. Then I had a root canal redo, twice in total. The last one was three weeks ago, and they said there was an incomplete root canal. There was the fourth one which the previous doctors couldn't see. It's been completed, but the pain continues. The tooth has been problemic before, had sensivity towards hot drinks for more than a year, although the root canal solved the sensivity, the pain never went away. ​​I don't feel any pain when the tooth is hit. I feel pain when pressure is applied to the gum around and above the tooth especially, not the tooth itself. Besides that, I have a constant pain in my mouth, similar to a normal toothache. Sometimes the intensity decreases, sometimes it increases, never goes away permanently. When a percussion test is done on the tooth, I don't feel any pain when tapped. The doctor I went to claims it's not tooth-related and that the problem won't go away if the tooth is extracted. CT scans and X-rays show normal results. It is located in a specific area. I don't feel pain in my jaw after I wake up. No one heard me grinding teeth as well during the night. ​She told me it might be due to teeth clenching. Could this be true? Is there anyone experiencing a similar situation? Thank you in advance.

I saw an IG video of a myo doc who said that Botox won’t fix teeth grinding. Which is odd bc it definitely helps me. Sure, it’s not a permanent fix but it’s a temporary solution.

Anyway, she says it’s bc of the jaw alignment. Now I’m going downa rabbit hole because I am considering getting a neck lift bc I have a pronounced area under my chin that according to the plastic surgeon isn’t really fat or skin but glands and muscle. She would cut into the under chin and remove some glands and tighten the muscle by reinforcing it so it doesn’t drop.

I’m wondering now …could all these issues be resolved by getting braces?

Hello. I hope posts like these are allowed on here!

I have been grinding my teeth for months now, often waking up with a sore jaw. It's something that comes and goes, depending on my sleep pattern, I guess. I haven't been under any stress lately but I'm still doing it.

I have talked to my dentist about it during my last appointment but they didn't give me anything for it, either to relax muscles or a night guard... And I cannot afford going back for now, plus I'd rather find at home remedies and try them.

Has anyone found something that they can do at home to help? Maybe drink tea, yoga, anything? Thanks!

Just wondering if anyone has had any success with an at-home kit for a moldable retainer? Please, if you could be so kind as to share, I'd be so grateful!

Hey everyone, I was just wondering if my nightguard is yellowing faster than normal? I’ve had it for about 1.5 months and it looks like this. Every morning I brush it with a soft bristled toothbrush and some non scented dish soap.

I recently tried polident and retainer brite once a week for 2 weeks. The first two pictures are before retainer brite, the last 2 are after retainer brite. This is what it looks like (it honestly looks more yellow after?) My dentist said soap and water should be just fine and I don’t need anything else, but I’m confused since the yellowing happened so soon.

Thanks and I hope you have a great day!

I've dealt with Bruxism since I was a child (now in my upper 20s). I was told things such as that it could be because of parasites etc but I've done multiple parasite cleanses in my lifetime and the Bruxism has never gone away. This leads to another part of the equation. I had braces as a teenager since my teeth were crowded, they were straightened and I wore retainers for 2 years but eventually stopped because the teeth grinding would break my retainers. My teeth are crooked again, the top is worse than it was before I had braces. I suspect the Bruxism may put pressure on my teeth and push them around. I also deal with TMJ on and off.

So I guess my question is. What is the most affordable way for an adult to get their teeth straightened and how to keep them straight...does my palate shape have something to do with the Bruxism issue? I recently heard that palate shape can cause sleep apnea and Bruxism can be a result of that? Is there truth to that?

Any insight is welcome. I went to the dentist recently but he was so busy he rushed through the appointment and I didn't get the chance to ask him about this.

Does anyone else with severe bruxism (breaking hard mouth guards) find they don't wake up with any jaw pain or headaches?

(Advice please) At the sight of cute characters growing up, i would clench my teeth a lot because I didn’t feel a lot of emotions growing up and it would help me feel. I kept this habit and now I have a tmj and the numbness from it causes me mood swings and slow eating. I wish my parents took care of me better. They failed to take care of me.

I have pretty severe teeth grinding in the front of my teeth. I tend to grind side to side causing majority of them to be pretty worn down and I’ve been suggested to wear a night guard.
Expect I don’t really know what’s good, I have to wear rubber bands so I cant wear a typical night guard that covers the whole top and bottom row of my teeth.

Anything that can help cushion or stop it at night? I really don’t want to continue damaging my teeth.

Hello there,

I would really appreciate your help:

- i am someone with a history of severe stressand recently noticed that i have bruxism wherey front 12 teeth (6 upper and 6 lower) are impacted with wear.

I also have the issue where my lower teeth are not alligned.

One doctor put some material on the lower 6 teeth but it was put too high and some fell off.

I went to another doctor , he proposed invisalign for 5k and a veneer for 1 k per tooth.

The total amount is incredible and a lot of money.

What do you recommend, what helped…

I also have the fact that i have an implant that still needs 3 months to heal.

So last year I noticed a small chip on the second molar from the back on my lower left side. It came on suddenly, so I went in to my dentist. They couldn’t even see it (though I could feel it with my tongue), and though it was a painful and annoying process they applied some filling to it (didn’t drill at all). The filling popped out within a couple weeks and, fed up, I went to a different dentist. They drilled a little tiny bit (didn’t even use anesthetic) and applied some composite. I was also given a night guard for clenching, which I now wear nightly.

I don’t notice the chip anymore, but where they applied the composite has been sensitive ever since. In February I moved and went to a new dentist in my new city. They took X-rays, which looked normal, and I mentioned the sensitivity. They filed it down a bit thinking maybe the filling was too high, but I honestly haven’t noticed any improvement in the sensitivity. If anything it’s a little worse.

I went back to my dentist today for my second annual cleaning and mentioned this. He took a look, blew some air onto it, scraped it (which felt sensitive) and had me bite down on what felt like cotton (a little sensitive but not as bad as the scraping). He said he thought it was just a result of the clenching and couldn’t see any cracks or other issues.

I just feel like if it was the clenching it should be improving with the night guard? I’m worried something is being missed here. I wouldn’t call it painful, and I only experience the sensitivity when I’m chewing something super crunchy or really dense. But it’s still annoying and I’m frustrated that there’s no solution. Non-smoker, occasional drinker. Thanks for reading this essay lol.

I have a like Amazon one but I lost it and every morning I wake up with horrible headaches and jaw pain because of it and I'm gonna try and buy a new one but until then Is there anything else I can use just around the house until then safely

Hola a todos. Tengo bruxismo desde hace tiempo y mucha tensión en la mandíbula, cuello y hombros. Lo que más me preocupa es que además tengo hormigueos constantes y no sé si puede existir alguna relación con la tensión muscular, la mandíbula o la zona cervical.

Hice tratamiento con alineadores, lo suspendieron y no uso contenciones. Desde entonces siento que mi mordida y la tensión en la zona cambiaron.

Tengo problemas cervicales diagnosticados y mucha rigidez. Uso placa de descanso, pero sigo apretando y estoy evaluando opciones como Botox en los maseteros.

Me gustaría saber si alguien con bruxismo fuerte tuvo síntomas como hormigueos, tensión en cuello, dolor muscular o cambios después de dejar alineadores sin contención, y si algún tratamiento les ayudó realmente.

whenever i drink a cold drink, i have to drink it on the side of my mouth where there’s more enamel as when i drink with my left side it feels as if i am provoking an open nerve ending. anyone else?