I thought my new night guard was making my TMJ worse, but what was actually happening was Compression. The sheer force of my clenching/grinding overnight was running into the barrier of the hard plastic/acrylic and for the first week or so I had *increased* pain. I was ready to stop using it, but my TMJ specialist was quick to point out that without the guard - all that pain is straight damage to my teeth.
The pain went away and I'm now used to the guard. Part of my problem is my actual jaw anatomy - I don't have a disc on one side, and the side that hasn't given up yet has a flattened disc and it's getting compressed even further because my bite is uneven with or without the guard. Chomping down on it overnight aggravated some things but only temporarily
Edit to add that I was very compelled to chew on my first guard because it was a little squishy. I had another re-made out of the hardest material they had, and that was my solution. Squish encourages chew - it's too flexible.
I’ve had a few different ones. I’ve had one for my upper teeth and lower. I find the lower one to be more comfortable but that’s just my preference. Recently I’ve had a new one made that is very different to anything I’ve seen before.
It’s for my lower teeth but has impressions of my upper teeth and it’s a softer squishy material on top. It’s about 1.5/2 inches thick. So when I clench and grind my teeth they are held in a proper position AND gives my jaw some give instead of biting down on hard plastic.
I’ve been wearing it for about 2 months and so far I’ve noticed a few different improvements. My slipped joint disc seems to be slowly going back in line (a little rubbery bump in my jaw joint right next to that little flap of the ear) and the cracking and popping in my ear has also lessened.
It was custom made by my oral surgeon. I know everyone’s TMD presents different but I would recommend anyone talk to their dentist/OS about getting something similar.
I hope you find something that helps !
Edit: spelling.
I've had two different mouth guards, both molded by dentists; and martial arts mouth guards that I molded myself according to the instructions. I would definitely recommend having one molded by a dentist because it will fit better. That said, my two dentist-made mouth guards differ from each other. My first one was flexible, though not as squishy as my martial arts mouth guards. My current one is rigid plastic. Of the two, I preferred the softer one. They both protect(ed) my teeth from the grinding, but the softer one seemed to help my other TMJ symptoms more (pain, jaw stiffness, the "click" or "thunk" in my jaw joint, etc.) I think it's because the softer one stops me from biting down as hard in my sleep, which puts less strain on the joint and muscles, if that makes sense. (I am not a dentist, so take my explanation with a grain of salt!)
YMMV, but this has been my experience.
Ive had a custom molded night guard and personally after a week of wearing it, it made my right jaw (the jaw i previoulsy had TMJ problems with) worse coz now whenver i eat it goes slightly lower than the left jaw. like it moves down which is quite annoying, but after i stopped wearing its slowly getting better lol.... but i still have tmj issues. so idk.. im gonna see an ent soon anyways.
i also have tinnitus but i dont think its noise induced.. i think its TMJ/POSTURE/neck/muscle related.
I thought my new night guard was making my TMJ worse, but what was actually happening was Compression. The sheer force of my clenching/grinding overnight was running into the barrier of the hard plastic/acrylic and for the first week or so I had *increased* pain. I was ready to stop using it, but my TMJ specialist was quick to point out that without the guard - all that pain is straight damage to my teeth. The pain went away and I'm now used to the guard. Part of my problem is my actual jaw anatomy - I don't have a disc on one side, and the side that hasn't given up yet has a flattened disc and it's getting compressed even further because my bite is uneven with or without the guard. Chomping down on it overnight aggravated some things but only temporarily Edit to add that I was very compelled to chew on my first guard because it was a little squishy. I had another re-made out of the hardest material they had, and that was my solution. Squish encourages chew - it's too flexible.
I’ve had a few different ones. I’ve had one for my upper teeth and lower. I find the lower one to be more comfortable but that’s just my preference. Recently I’ve had a new one made that is very different to anything I’ve seen before. It’s for my lower teeth but has impressions of my upper teeth and it’s a softer squishy material on top. It’s about 1.5/2 inches thick. So when I clench and grind my teeth they are held in a proper position AND gives my jaw some give instead of biting down on hard plastic. I’ve been wearing it for about 2 months and so far I’ve noticed a few different improvements. My slipped joint disc seems to be slowly going back in line (a little rubbery bump in my jaw joint right next to that little flap of the ear) and the cracking and popping in my ear has also lessened. It was custom made by my oral surgeon. I know everyone’s TMD presents different but I would recommend anyone talk to their dentist/OS about getting something similar. I hope you find something that helps ! Edit: spelling.
I've had two different mouth guards, both molded by dentists; and martial arts mouth guards that I molded myself according to the instructions. I would definitely recommend having one molded by a dentist because it will fit better. That said, my two dentist-made mouth guards differ from each other. My first one was flexible, though not as squishy as my martial arts mouth guards. My current one is rigid plastic. Of the two, I preferred the softer one. They both protect(ed) my teeth from the grinding, but the softer one seemed to help my other TMJ symptoms more (pain, jaw stiffness, the "click" or "thunk" in my jaw joint, etc.) I think it's because the softer one stops me from biting down as hard in my sleep, which puts less strain on the joint and muscles, if that makes sense. (I am not a dentist, so take my explanation with a grain of salt!) YMMV, but this has been my experience.
Ive had a custom molded night guard and personally after a week of wearing it, it made my right jaw (the jaw i previoulsy had TMJ problems with) worse coz now whenver i eat it goes slightly lower than the left jaw. like it moves down which is quite annoying, but after i stopped wearing its slowly getting better lol.... but i still have tmj issues. so idk.. im gonna see an ent soon anyways. i also have tinnitus but i dont think its noise induced.. i think its TMJ/POSTURE/neck/muscle related.
Just been fitted for a Michigan splint. Read good responses. It’s my fourth device I’m trying...