Hi everyone,

Ever since I was very young I have had problems with severe teeth grinding and jaw clenching at night. Just in the past 2 years or so I have noticed that I clench my jaw almost 24/7. I have a othro made night guard which helps at night but I can't wear it during the day at work! By the end of the day my jaw is so sore and hard to open. Any suggestions or does anyone have this problem?? Thanks!!!!

Did you tell the ortho you are clenching during the day as well? Clenching is a common tmj symptom usually resulting from muscle tension due to malocclusion, an imbalanced bite or the joints being too forward or too backward - basically meaning your jaws and teeth are not meeting together properly to allow for a relaxed position so as a result the muscles contract, spasm or tighten which causes most people to clench or grind their teeth - its basically the bodies way of dealing with the problem - kind of like scratching an itch - sometimes we get carried away and can really scratch the dickens out of it - which of course only makes it worse. For some with mild or occasional flareups add'l anxiety or stress tend to excerbate the problem. A daytime splint may help so you may want to return to your ortho or see a neuromuscular or tmj dentist trained in FJO (functional jaw orthotics). Also - as a side note - some prescription meds can induce clenching so if you are taking meds for another condition you may want to see if it may be causing some of this.

I too have this issue. Have a new dentist who informed me that you will have a tendancy to clentch and grid more during sleep if your bite is off. Something about your teeth/jaw trying to find a comfortable position while you are sleeping. She took alot of time to adjust my bite and after a week I feel as if I am grinding less and my jaw feels much more relaxed....