February 1st, 2010
Author: Admin
I was diagnosed with TMJ about 4 months ago. My jaws are so sore and I hate to open them and my shoulders feel tight and stiff. Lately every morning I have had to use a hot wash cloth to get my left side to unlock and my whole mouth throbs. I’ve been given a night guard and sure it protects my teeth but it doesn’t stop the grinding and clenching that’s causing all the damage and pain and it isn’t helping with the locking. I think I clench more than I grind because I catch myself doing it during the day. I was then given methocarbamol(muscle relaxer) I’m suppose to take two at night but it gave me a headache made me extremely dizzy so I’m only taking one at a time and I’m seeing no improvement what so ever. I still wake up with a locked jaw and my muscles hurt. How can I stop myself from grinding and clenching?
Category: 
Tags: 
there is not really much you can do to stop ypurself from grinding/clenching at night -> most people don’t even know they do it in their sleep bc it is an unconscious action (this is why the biteguard/nightguard is often helpful).
during the day once you notice that you are doing it you have to basically tell yourself to stop doing it.
bc TMD (grinding/clenching) can aggrevated by stress, you could try and reduce stress (by talking to someone, writing in a journal, excercising, relaxing, etc).
the moist heat is a good idea bc it helps the TMJ muscles to relax. you might also want to consider looking up TMJ excercises…they really haven’t helped me a ton, but might help you!
i agree with the other answer about the medicine…you should talk to ur doctor about that, bc there could be something that could help you more without the side effects.
you may need to start looking at other options to help with your TMD. my dentist said for me if the biteguard and muscle relaxers don’t work then i might have to have surgery to correct my TMJ. if your TMD is caused more by a problem with the joint then the biteguard won’t help until after surgery (the surgery should correct the joint and then the biteguard will help maintain it/relax it). surgery is a big step though and a last resort and it also has the chance of not helping.
so…i would probably see ur TMD specialist again and you may even consider getting a second opinion (sometimes a fresh set of eyes helps!).
good luck! =)
you may wanna go back to your dr and let him know what side effects you had from the meds he precribed . maybe he could prescribe something else for the pain. also, you should mention that the night guard is not working as well as you’d like it to and discuss other alternative options.
in the mean time, please continue to wear the night guard, if nothing else its providing a layer between your teeth and protecting them from being shaved down
NIKU.
HAVE YOUR DENTIST MALE YOU AN NTI BRUXISM APPLIANCE\
SEE LINKS BELOW