Any Teeth Grinders Out There?

[DonnaD]

I grind my teeth and have since I was a child. I tried mouth guards but couldn't get on with them I clenched more and got headaches. I seem to be doing it less now that my stress levels are better. I have worn down and fractured some teeth and had root canal work and a gold crown. I'm just wondering if it is linked to gluten & neurological problems.

[jerseyangel]

Hi Donna--I was diagnosed with TMJ Disfunction about 2 years ago. I clench my teeth (bruxism) both during the day and while asleep. I wear a mouth guard, it does not stop the clenching, just protects my teeth. I also have chipped and broken teeth--oddly enough no real decay. I've only has 2 cavities in my whole life. One of my front teeth is bonded due to chipping. I don't know if this is related to Celiac or not.

[sspitzer5]

I grind my teeth and have since I was a child. I tried mouth guards but couldn't get on with them I clenched more and got headaches. I seem to be doing it less now that my stress levels are better. I have worn down and fractured some teeth and had root canal work and a gold crown. I'm just wondering if it is linked to gluten & neurological problems.

Hi Donna, I grind my teeth too. One of my doctors (an MD but holistic) told me that teeth grinding is associated with food allergies. I'm not sure if there's research to prove it, but I thought it was interesting.

S

[Canadian Karen]

I clench my teeth ALOT during the day, not even realizing I am doing it at the time. I grind my teeth at night..... I don't think it's associated with celiac though......

Karen

[i canary]

I confess I'm a life long teeth grinder too!

My childhood dentist used to accuse my mother of feeding me rock sandwiches.

[Guest cassidy]

I clench my teeth too. I have tried a guard but it made my jaw sore and seem to go off track, it was a few years ago. I've needed fillings from where I have put holes in my lower teeth. I try to remember that your teeth are never supposed to touch. There should be space in between the upper and lower ones when you aren't eating, and food in between when you are. I catch myself all the time and try to open my jaw a little. It is crazy what things are related to this.

[DonnaD]

I was surfing and came across Open Original Shared Link

75% of fibro sufferers have TMJ/bruxism so that explains a lot. I am a bit baffled that my tinnitus is really bad at the moment 'cos I don't seem to be grinding much, probably because I'm not having to do month end accounts anymore! Prozac is supposed to make it worse according to my dentist but I havn't found this. I had very overcrowded teeth as a child and had 8 out to make space and braces for ages so my bite has never been very good. I'v got lots of fillings too the allergy link is interesting.

[tarnalberry]

My husband (not celiac) does this a little bit - not enough to warrant a mouth guard, but enough to annoy me. For a while, it worked for me, whenver I noticed it, to just poke him in his sleep, and say "stop grinding your teeth". :-P

[DonnaD]

My OH used to do this, I get my own back now when he snores

[sspitzer5]

I was surfing and came across Open Original Shared Link

75% of fibro sufferers have TMJ/bruxism so that explains a lot. I am a bit baffled that my tinnitus is really bad at the moment 'cos I don't seem to be grinding much, probably because I'm not having to do month end accounts anymore! Prozac is supposed to make it worse according to my dentist but I havn't found this. I had very overcrowded teeth as a child and had 8 out to make space and braces for ages so my bite has never been very good. I'v got lots of fillings too the allergy link is interesting.

Does grinding cause tinnitus? I've got that one too.

[Rusla]

I have always clenched and ground my teeth awake or asleep. I couldn't wear a guard at night because my tongue would kick it out and I would start to choke. During waking hours my tongue would flip the guard out of my mouth when I was talking and I became adept at catching it in mid air. I broke teeth, so many times. However, now thanks to the diseae totally destroying my teeth, there are not that many to grind anymore.

[paulasimone]

i am a serious teeth grinder - it's horrible. bruxism. sometimes the noise will even wake *me* up. i have a night guard but don't wear it because i'm not sure it fits right anymore since i got a bridge. and cause i usually just spit it out into the bed in the middle of the night anyway and have to dig through the sheets to find it in the morning. ew.

and when i'm really stressed, i'll clench during the day.

my jaw hurts when i'm like that.

boo! for bruxin',

paula

[DonnaD]

I used to find my mouth guard under the pillow in the morning.... Perhaps my subconcious wanted to tooth fairy to take it away....

The tinnitus is common in grinders and fibro. My Fibro bible 'Fibromyalgia & chronic Myofascial Pain' Devin Starlanyl' Open Original Shared Link has lots of info on the link between the trigger points in the masseter.This was one of my very first fibro symptoms years before I had ever heard of fibro and my Dx.

Donna

[wolfie]

Another teeth grinder here. I have done this since I was a child...DS does it now too. I have worn down teeth, but not broken any so far. My newest dentist says I have TMJ too. I don't think I could wear the mouth guard....it would gag me.

Kim

[erin24]

I am a teeth grinder too. I have had to wear a night guard for years now. Most morning I wake up and my jaw is sore.

I wake my husband up from the noise of me grinding my teeth (says it sounds like I am eating rocks).

I have always had really sensitive teeth too. The dentist said this is b/c I have pretty much no enamel. I haven't been dx yet (blood test yesterday) but I am assuming this (lack of enamel) could be from celiac.

[Moongirl]

TMJ here too my dentist was the first to see it, not sure what caused it intially, but i noticed it more when i became stressed and anxious. Terrible thing this TMJ is, I bought a really good book about exercise and relaxation for ur jaws 'Taking Control of TMJ' it has pictures and all (Open Original Shared Link)....i use them when i remember. But my night gaurd is the only thing keeping me from flattening my teeth. OUCH!

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Oh. My. Gosh. I had no idea this could be related to celiac. At my last dental appointment, my dentist said it looks like I grind my teeth, and several are cracked.

He suggests a mouth guard from Dick's sporting goods store. He says they're just as good as anything he can make, and said to cut it down to size if necessary. The one thing he really stressed was that, after you soak it in the hot water and fit it to your mouth, DO NOT BITE DOWN during the fitting process, as it will shape in a way that encourages your jaw to lock and you end up with TMJ. (Once the thing has cooled down and set, you can bite all you want.)

I haven't gotten one yet (mh appointment was just last week)--I'm still reeling from the news that I likely have celiac.

Honestly. Is there anything bad that ISN"T caused by gluten?

[erin24]

Fiddle-Faddle,

Just a recommendation...I have tried the sports mouth guards and they seem to be a bit clunky and difficult to get used to. I usually would end up spitting them out in the middle of the night while I slept. Maybe I just didn't give it enough time but I really like the ones the dentists make b/c they are small, fit nicely to the teeth, and not clunky at all.

Insurance should pay for it to be made.

Like I said just a recommendation from a veteran teeth grinder

[jerseyangel]

Fiddle-Faddle,

Just a recommendation...I have tried the sports mouth guards and they seem to be a bit clunky and difficult to get used to. I usually would end up spitting them out in the middle of the night while I slept. Maybe I just didn't give it enough time but I really like the ones the dentists make b/c they are small, fit nicely to the teeth, and not clunky at all.

Insurance should pay for it to be made.

Like I said just a recommendation from a veteran teeth grinder

I agree with having one made for your mouth if you can. Mine is small and fits perfectly--stays put all night and does not interfere with sleep. I use one on the bottom teeth--the dentist said that sometimes he makes them for the top--depends on the case. Insurance paid for 80% of mine.

[happy4dolphins]

Yes, add me to the list too. I have sever TMJ on my left side. It started out clicking for years and then after I had kids (now 1 and 6) it's gotten much worse. I saw a specialist at the University of Michigan for quite some time, he gave me excersices and the regular dentist had a special retainer kind of thing made so that the top front teeth done meet the bottom front teeth and I wear this at night.

I had an mri done a few years ago and it showed that my left disk is stuck forward, which allows my ball of the joint to go anywhere. IT sometimes gets stuck.

Nicole

[DonnaD]

Honestly. Is there anything bad that ISN"T caused by gluten?

My Ex husband wasn't ....... but even that is suspect as he has Alopecia and was the father of my coeliac daughter

I had 2 mouth guards, a 'soft' one for my upper teeth made by my dentist that cost £200 or so ($300 ) and one a hard thin lower one made at a London Dental hospital and covered under the NHS. (this is the one I still use occasionally) The one I tried from the sport shop for £15 was much too thick to wear at night.

[flampton]

I also brux. Grind really bad. Sucks...

Well I don't have insurance so I use Doctor's mouthguards that are sold in grocery stores. They cost like twenty dollars. There pretty good and they are nice and small just like the real dental one I had made up a long time ago.

I also don't think Celiac causes bruxism, but I bet there is a high degree of comorbidity.

Basically bruxism appears to be a response to stress. Celiac disease is responsible for a whole bunch of stress.

SO... it would definitely not be suprising on a gluten free diet to have a reduction in bruxism and maybe a remission.

Well that is what I'm hoping for !!!

Later

Eric

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Thanks, everybody, for the info. I will give the cheapie moouthguards a try, and, if I can't stand them (I can't imagine that I'll actually like them), I'll try to find a dentist who likes making them. (I get the feeling that my dentist just doesn't feel like making one.)

I don't believe I ground my teeth until I was stressed out from the @#$%! DH-type rash and then even more stressed out from the @#$%! dermatologist (pardon my language).

[thomas3000]

I mentioned before in previous posts that teeth grinding is associated with parasitic infections. Most of not all celiacs have some kind of infection that needs to be cleared out. Parasites are more active at night and that's when most people grind there teeth. Recent research states that at least 80 percent of people with an intolerance to gluten have some kind of infection. Wouldn't hurt to get checked out..