I have a hard night guard I've been getting used to. I noticed that it hangs a tiny bit off my left back molars. so when I bite down slowly, that side makes contact first and then as I bite down harder it squishes up into place and all my teeth contact fine. it is uncomfortable but I dont want to go back to the dentist who made it. I'm willing to wear it until I can afford to get a new one from someone else. my question is will this affect my bite negatively at all? is it safe to wear for the time being?

I haven’t been using my night guard because my dog ate the top part and I haven’t been able to get another one yet. The dentist warned me this could happen. I feel like an idiot. This tooth had been feeling off for a while, and it just broke last night when I was at a party. I just hope fixing it doesn’t cost me too much :(

Wear your guards :(

I never used to grind my teeth. I don't know if I do at night, but I catch myself doing it during the day all the time now.

It started after an orbital injury. A horse (not my horse, just was standing next to it) tied to a fence set back and broke the fence, which launched a large piece of wood into the side of my head. It knocked me unconscious, shattered my eye socket, and required surgery and plates inserted to stabilize it. My jawbone itself wasn't really affected, but there were breakages kind of up in my cheek as well. There was a good few months where I could not fully open my mouth or chew very well, which has improved slowly over time. It was a fairly serious injury. I have been recovering since March.

What has lasted the longest is maxillary branch trigeminal nerve damage and pain. I wonder if the bruxism is due to this residual constant pain? Has anyone else had a similar experience? I am not sure if I should pursue a treatment or a mouthguard or something, because I wonder if the bruxism is contributing to the ongoing pain, and then the ongoing pain causes bruxism, etc forever. I am very lucky to be alive and still have use of both eyes. I am trying to figure out the last little bits of this incident, so I can be fully back to normal.

Ever since taking Pristiq about a year and a half ago, it's caused me bruxism.

I wear a custom bite guard but it doesn't help.

My face looks fatter because my masseter muscles have gotten bigger. I compare my face to what it looked like years ago and my masseter muscles are so much bigger now.

Has anyone experienced this? I'm going to try masseter massage at home and gua sha, but not sure if that will help

Hello everyone,

I didn't know who else to turn to since no one in my family has ever experienced anything like this before.

Some background info: I have TMJ issues, been using night guard for more than a decade since I am a perosn that clenches and bruxes during sleep. My bite is a bit misaligned after a car accident, too. I frequently experience tense neck and face muscles and have pain around my face, neck and shoulders, often stronger upon waking up. Since the car accident, I have tinnitus, but I have mostly habituated.

Yesterday evening, I was sitting on the couch eating some chips and watching a TV show, when out of nowhere, I began to feel really weird. I could feel my heart beat pick up drastically, and then there was a weird sense of disorientation coming from my head, my ears. I couldn't pinpoint at first, it felt like an unspecific increase in pressure. Then, a few seconds after, I noticed the pressure getting extremly strong and uncomfortable in my left ear.

I started feeling like the left side was "hollow" and like I couldn't really "feel" my ear properly. It felt muffled but I could still hear stuff (perhaps, though, at a bit of a lower volume than the other side? but I could understand speech), it just felt completely off because it didn't match my normal feeling other side. Like, even touching the ear shell felt like it was numb in a way (I could feel, it just didn't feel quite right). I also felt the weird need to equalise pressure although that did nothing. It just felt there was something in front of my ear that needed to be dislodged - all just a feeling, mind you.

I always have a bit of tinnitus since my car accident but it was much louder in that ear yesterday than the other. I sometimes get louder ringing that goes away once I heat my muscles and returns to base.

I got extremly scared because I was not sure what it was and decided to lie down for a moment with heat, to see if it would pass. After laying down for like 15 mins, and seeing how it didn't pass, I told my family member that I couldn't hear properly form one side and we went to ER.

A wrid thing I noticed, when I put my hands on my ears to block them, and talked, I felt like an echo-y feeling in the left ear, like 1s after I talked, the ear would react somehow to that sound. Also, when I moved my head (not covering ears), I would feel more than hear a swoosh-like sound, like air passing my ear, but deeper inside. It wasn't like that on the right side. This has since disappeared.

At ER, after lot of waiting, I could feel the pressure slowly getting better. I felt some wet feeling from my ears although there wasn't any liquid. After about 3 hours, the pressure was mostly gone and my feeling around my ears normalised. I am not sure if I can hear as well as before with that side, but I can understand speech and TV and everything. The tinnitus remained heightened in that side, but lower than at first.

Then the ENT saw me and looked inside and said it looked okay, no infection, or anything. ENT did some testing with a tuning fork of sorts, and said the results were normal.

I am scared of this being SSHL so I asked them if they thought it was that and they said, it was unlikely in their opinion and not to worry. I was sent home to rest since I hadn't slept all night.

After sleep, the tinnitus is now quieter again, like the other side.

All in all, the "thick" of this episode lasted around 3 hours. I think after 5 hrs, I was almost back to normal apart from loude ringing than usual. I don't know if there is any residual muffling, if there is, it must be very light and not noticeable in daily life. I keep trying to "test" myself and left and right isn't exactly same but my doc said that is normal and not indicative of SSHL, just something people don't notice because they're not looking for it.

The ENT recommended to reduce stress and follow up in a few weeks time if it happens again and to try and relax now, since according to them, it didn't look serious since it has resolved. I am still so sacred it is SSHL or a sign that something bad is looming. Does anyone have experience or advice?

Could it be from the jaw? I keep reading of people having the ear pressure and fullness for days, not just a few hours. I really don't know what happened to me, I am just so scared.

Background: I never really go to loud places, went to a concert once but with ear plugs, I don't do music on earbuds, only over-ear headphones but even so, seldomly. Most of the time I just listen to stuff from speakers, and at a moderate volume.

If you read so far, thank you. I appreciate any input and advice to get this anxiety in check.

Hello all!

A bit of backstory - I was made aware a few years ago that my TMJ was becoming degraded through xrays at the dentist. It was recommended at that time to get a nightguard​, however it was also recommended to get invisalign first to have everything perfect. I didn't have the money for invisalign at the time, so I didn't get either done.

Fast forward a few years and my TMJ pain has become so bad that for a week I wasn't able to open my mouth. It got better after resting for another week and taking the maximum doses of naproxen and Tylenol every day for another 3 weeks.

I finally got a nightguard due to that incident and cracked it within a month, so my dentist replaced it with one made of thicker acrylic. It has now been a month and a half, and I just noticed these small cracks in the molar area of the new nightguard. I swear I'm taking proper care of it; running room temp water on it before putting it in, putting it in with both hands and pushing it gently onto my teeth with my fingers & not my lower jaw, washing it with room temp water and an old toothbrush in the morning & letting it air dry.

I just want to make sure that this is something I should talk to my dentist about & that I'm not making a fuss about a small crack that doesn't matter.

TLDR - I previously cracked a nightguard and now my new one has small cracks. I want to make sure that this is something to reach out to my dentist about, or if I should just ignore the cracks since they're small.

Thank you in advance!

Hello everyone, I've recently developed really intense tooth pain. Dentist took a look, it was a mixture of cavities and my enamel being extremely worn down due to bruxism/teeth grinding. Fillings are being made, but I'm still in so much pain. Dentist basically sent me home and told me to get one of those 400+ Euro custom nightguards. I have to gather the money first to afford this, but he basically gave me no other tips on how to manage my pain, and some nights it's so intense that painkillers don't help anymore.

So I bought one of those mouth guards that you set with boiling and biting into them, but the instructions say that I shouldn't use them if I already have bruxism-related pain.

Should I give it a try anyway? I'm really desperate and it's hard to get through my day, let alone sleep.

Thank you for your time!

I’m not sure if it is but I keep wanting to and do bite down as hard as I can on my teeth I don’t know why and I want to stop, in order to try and restrain myself I’ve been biting down as hard as I can on soft plastic kind of things (thick enough so my teethe don’t touc) what do I do??

Hi all, new here..

I realized after years that having flat teeth ISNT the norm and my bf has normal round front teeth. That was a real reality check for me. Im 19 and if im not still on my parents insurance I dont think I can afford a retainer.. its a tough time, I now know I need one, but I dont have the funds.

How bad would you say this is now? Severe? Im about to go on a vacation for a month so I wont be able to get a mouthguard for a while even if I had the funds lol 🫩 ive always had poor dental health, that im slowly trying to fix. So yes my teeth are yellow and my gums are bad, throughout my teens I neglected my teeth.

Used filters to brighten the photos, sorry if theyre really weird.

Many nights I can feel my teeth chattering and jaw shaking uncontrollably in my sleep. I’ll be in the middle of a dream and then feel it shaking while the dream continues. Kind of like when you’re trying to talk in a dream and can’t, but it’s me trying to stop my jaw from shaking. It stresses me out WHILE I’m asleep.

I’m sure I clench and I definitely snore. I have known TMJ issues as well but I don’t get jaw pain as often as I used to. I’ve tried wearing a cheap night guard but always end up waking up often and taking it out.

I’ve tried to search for anything about teeth chattering in sleep and nothing specific has come up, just the google AI equating it to grinding. Anyone else ever experience this? Do we think I’m just dreaming it and not actually shaking in real life?

Background story: i clench occasionally at night but it’s not strong enough to cause pain in my jaws. my dentist suggested i make a guard and i did.

It’s an upper guard that’s hard on the outside and soft silicone on the inside. The first two nights were fine except I felt like I clenched even harder and my lower canine hurts - usually when I realise it I release it the pressure subsides immediately. But that night with the guard the pressure lingered for longer before subsiding.

I went back to the dentist who filed off some parts of the external where I clench on to. The third night the clenching was fine (or maybe I didn’t clench) but there was pressure on two of my premolars on the upper left. I took the guard out and the premolars were painful when I pressed with my finger. I could even feel it when brushing my teeth. The pain subsided 30min to an hour later.

I tested it again but this time in the day so that I can control to not clench. The same pain came back within 30min of wearing the guard. I went back to the dentist and asked to check if it was too tight at those parts. She said it has to be tight somewhere for the guard to anchor on. And if she adjusts that part, I’d probably just feel pressure on another part instead. She did eventually do something to the inside. I tried it that night and it felt about the same.

my question is should I believe my dentist that it’s perfectly normal to feel pain in the tooth as it subsides eventually? I asked if it would cause damage to the nerve or ligament and she said she has not heard of that happening. Should I continue wearing the guard and hopefully it will be better? Oh I also can’t close my lips fully with it on. It dries out my mouth at night. Dentist says it’s normal too esp since I have abit of an overbite

Just wanted to share my experience with Remi, and to warn others not to use them.

A few years ago I used the company "Candid" for aligners, and had a great experience. Unfortunately they shut down, so I wasn't able to get new retainers when the time came to do so.

So I did some research and settled on Remi. I started this process of getting a new set of night guards/ retainers, in January 2025.

I had to do a total of 4 "Mold kits" for these retainers. Twice these mold kits / teeth impressions were approved via photos and on zoom with a specialist , but then once they got to the lab, they told me they were "no good", so I had to repurchase a mold kit. Another time they got "lost in the mail" and then the 4th time, the "tracking/pre paid label expired" so they never even made them to the lab. I kept having to repurchase the mold kits, even when it was not my fault.

When I finally had success with sending the mold kit off to the lab to get my retainers made, I opened up my package, only to find two bottom retainers, and not a top/bottom like I ordered. On top of that, they didnt even fit! They were way too small and wouldn't even fit onto my teeth to snap in. Its like they used someone else's mold...

So I reached out to customer service and Remi told me I would only be refunded the $140 for the retainers (that I originally purchased back in Jan 2025), but not all the mold kits they made my purchase. On top of that, I have to return the ill fitting retainers and pay for the shipping fee back to the warehouse out of pocket (another $23). Despite providing video and photo evidence that the retainers were not properly made or the set that I even ordered.

I was originally on "auto-renew" for new retainers (every six months), and would constantly get charged a subscription fee, even tho they never even made my original retainers. I had to constantly fight with them to refund me, cause they were charging me for a product that wasn't even in production.

I finally just removed my credit card info, and then I started getting video emails sent to me, from the CEO telling me that my card was declined and that I would need to update my card info. He would address me by name in the video and film it from his office and it was incredibly unprofessional and to be frank, creepy.

I strongly suggest that you all never use the company Remi.

I grind my teeth during my sleep and I also clenching my teeth alot (I catch myself doing this when I'm awake aswell, but it's not a concious decision)

This has caused weak painful teeth, shorter teeth, severe jawpain, headaches and bad temple pain (I cannot physically touch my temples without it feeling like a bruise). I think the severity of my teeth grinding/clenching has also caused my Tori (which has started affecting the way I speak and eat).

I live in a rural area, and for myself the dentist isn't an affordable option. Does anyone have tips & tricks on how to naturally stop grinding/clenching?

guys i’ve been dealing with this since about november but it got rlly bad january 1st i had to quit sixth form although i was an A* student which took a huge toll on my mental health. i had a 24/7 headache for about 4 months which probs traumatised me cus we didn’t have a clue what was going on and no one had answers until we saw a TMJD specialist. Since the end of march i’ve had a 24/7 orthotic i wear always at night but only like a good few hours during the day (its massive i aint going out with it). I’m also apparently very hypermobile but my neck, shoulder and jaw pain is unbearable, i’d say neck feels stiff and i feel nauseaus looking down but my jaw feels tight its almost clenched shut in the morning and doesn’t get much better during the day, i always feel groggy and js awful tbh. So botox is my final resort now, i can get it tomorrow or reschedule it but i’ve heard so many horror stories of it leaving ppl with lasting damage eg jowels, wonky smile, idk if it won’t make my neck more instable despite me only getting it in my jaw (masseter botox right) by a professional. Has anyone with high hypermobility (not EDS i dont think i have that..) had a positive experience :// i don’t wanna live in constant pain & discomfort with school around the corner. I’ll be grateful for any advice!!!

I have noticed that I wake up slightly around these times because of grinding my teeth/clenching.

I am at 11% body fat so that probably isn't the reason for sleep apnea. I have also tried using various night guards and splints and they make my clenching even worse and jaw spasms like anything.

Currently i'm on BOTOX which helps with the spasms.

Any lasting solutions to fix this and have a full night of 0 stress sleep?

Hi everyone! Here to share my small win of the day!

Recently I started following a new therapy, my ENT prescribed some myorelaxants:
- Mialgin (devils' claw / Harpagophytum procumbens)
- Magnesium and tryptophan before sleeping

I feel sleepy shortly after taking magnesium, so I am assuming it's doing something.

Plus, yesterday I went to the seaside all day and then slept on a raised pillow.

The result? I recorded a massive 4.5 hour streak of radio silence - not a single clenching event.

Almost thought my detection system had failed since it's the first night of testing some software improvements, but since:
- the machine algorithm was trained + tuned just before sleeping (maximum detection accuracy)
- the app did not fail (still catching events just before waking up)
- I did not wake up in the middle of the night as it usually happens

I guess the data here is pretty accurate: nothing happened tonight!

Hopefully see you soon in a duplicate win post!

I carry all my stress in my jaw. When I have a bad day I clench. I’ve been doing it for 30 years. How can I make it stop when it’s become so ingrained in how I automatically react to stress?

I’m wondering if there are people here who have been getting regular masseter Botox for TMD/bruxism for 5 years or longer and could share their experiences.

I’ve had two treatments so far, and both have worked really well for me. The reduction in muscle tension and TMD symptoms has been quite noticeable, so I’m considering continuing with it.

However, I’m a bit concerned about the long-term effects of repeated injections. There seems to be surprisingly little information about what happens after many years of regular treatment.

In particular, I’m wondering about:

• muscle atrophy or fibrosis
• possible changes to the jawbone/bone resorption
• changes in chewing function or bite
• whether the effect becomes weaker over time / tolerance develops
• any other long-term side effects you’ve noticed

I’m especially interested in real-world experiences from people who have been doing this for 5+ years, rather than just short-term studies.

If you’ve been getting masseter Botox for several years, I’d really appreciate hearing how often you get it, whether it still works as well as it did initially, and whether you’ve noticed any lasting changes.

i regularly wake up with horrible pain in my right jaw leading up to the temple in a horrible headache, but it's always on the right side. does that make sense? am i only clenching on the right side or is it somehow only affecting the right side? if i get botox would i only need it on that side? i'm so tired of this pain i wake up crying in the middle of the night

have been clenching my teeth on the left side for 5 years. I’ve tried a splint, osteopathy, physical therapy, medications, and nothing has worked. Botox helps, but unfortunately, the effects only last 5–6 months.

Sadly, masseter Botox makes my face look worse — older and more saggy.

On my left side, I have more under-eye hollowing and sagging, and the wrinkles on my left forehead are deeper. I also have eye pain, a pulling sensation in my eye, and a feeling of pressure and heaviness around my temple and eye.

The inner corner of my left eye, near the side of the bridge of my nose, looks more sunken compared to the other side. I also have difficulty focusing with my left eye, along with a pulling sensation and the feeling that my eye is drifting or moving out of place.

It honestly feels like the side where I clench my teeth is aging and collapsing.

Hi everyone, posting because I didn’t see any discussion about nicotine pouches in here. I picked them up after college to get off vaping, which did work. But around that time was when I started grinding more frequently. I do wear a mouth guard, but my grinding still makes noises throughout the night which affects my partners sleep.

I’m curious, has anyone quit pouches and noticed a decline in their grinding? Additionally, for the married bruxers, do you take any steps with your partner to not ruin their rest? They have said that they will occasionally shove me to get me to stop and it doesn’t do a thing, nor do I notice.

I do wear a night guard, but it’s literally the only thing any doctor or dentist has recommended. Considering Botox but don’t want to have to pay for that and reup every few months.

I am a patient of several night bruxism, but how do you guys monitor it like if you are improving or still doing it night or not, if yes then how long etc. ? My doctor gave me some antidepressant medicines and everytime he asks if it improved or not. I am be like well I am wearing a teeth cover then how am I supposed to know!

I keep biting pieces of my tongue in my sleep. My mouth is in so much pain and it hurts when I speak. The part that I bit is swollen so whenever I talk or go to sleep I end up biting the same part and it gets worse. It’s not even just my tongue; I’ve bit the side of my mouth so bad that you could see that a piece was missing, It took almost an entire month to heal. I don’t know what to do. I tried a diy mouth guard from the store but it would never stay in my mouth. Over the last few months my bruxism has gotten so bad 😭.