Bruxism

[write]

I don't know if any of you do this, but since I took prozac, about 10 years ago, I started grinding/ clenching my back teeth.
I'm on my second set of crowns where I do it most: I cracked the natural teeth.
The first crowns were badly set and I ground them out in a couple of years, but even with my new dentistry I've noticed I'm eroding the crown enamal in one place.

Haven't taken a/d s for a long time, so maybe other meds cause it too, or maybe I've just got into the habit.

I've been doing it a lot this week as work pressures mount, and my gums around the crowns are sore.
Seems to be stress-related, though it was much worse when I took a/d s.

Fortunately I don't get any more serious symptoms but it can cause jaw problems and headaches.

I'm going to talk to the dentist about using a mouth guard, it's expensive to keep replacing crowns!

[mum]

Ouch. That sounds painful!
I have not had this problem, but I have a sister who did this. In her case, it was not med related. She is the calmest person on the planet. Very reflective/quiet.....except: at night, when she was sleeping she took everything out on her teeth.
A mouth guard saved her teeth.
 I have to call her....this was years ago, and now I wonder if that is still an issue.
Are you ruminating/worrying? Do you have other stress outlets (exercise, maybe...some other physcial thing?)
Good luck with this. I can just feel it..uggg, you poor thing!!

[write]

it's not actually painful for me, except the dentistry bills (! ) and the sore gums sometimes.

Interesting isn't it, how so many things if we don't address them become physical ailments.

'Ruminating'

Perfect word!!!

[moonlight52]

Hi all        I grind my teeth and it is just stress  related .I went to my dentist and had nite guards made so I would not grind my teeth .You can also get over the counter ones and they work also.
                      Moonlight

[Hopalong]

Hi all,
I grind my teeth and it's because I want to:

--stalk my alpha-boss through the savannah and pounce on him and chew him into friccassee
--eat all the people who look at my (prematurely) white hair and call me "overqualified"
--make sure I'm chewing every bite at least 20 times when I'm having a snack
--munch on all the Ns in the world, one at a time, slowly

(Umm, stress.) 

Hops

[cat]

I've ground my teeth since I was a little girl.  It's developed into TMJ or TMD.  The symptoms that come with TMJ are a lot of pain in the jaw, popping in the jaw, and a perceived loss of hearing.

I wear a night guard - but tend to rip it out and throw it across the room.

[write]

I've done it even more today whilst I've been consciously trying to break the habit!

I looked into TMJ thanks for mentioning it.
I had a client ask me just this week about a swelling and pain in her face, her doctor said it was nothing.
I'll send her some info.

[blue]

I have had TMJ all my life (well since i was 10)
I had braces put in much later to fix the bite (My N mother told me for years there was nothing wrong with me) and a quad on my pallate (very painful) for over  year
I had  bone loss on side of my joint and i suffer from chronic pain
(from neck to face to migraine headaches) This is on going and at some level never leaves
It is very painful and causes work related problems for me and sleep loss
  I take  kava for muscle tension when i go to bed at night
 I do not use any other medications
It is not always caused by tenson It can be caused by a misaligned spine or structure in the body
(My leg is shorter on one side though it cannot be noticed and one side of my TM joint is smaller)
I was lucky and went to an excellent dentest/ TMJ specialist  He saved my joint and I never wore my teeth down but it took over  five years of treatment
It is more common in women and tension can make it much worse
 A night guard can help but sometimes you end up grinding on that!
blue~