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Teeth grinding / clenched jaw

I have been dealing with this my whole life. With no dental insurance or money its hard for me to maybe get this taken care of at a dentist. But it seems the last couple of weeks have been way worse. I wear a store bought mouth guard at night, but it constantly falls out.

My teeth have been hurting and I found that I have been chewing on really random things, a lot. Like a plastic guard around my car key, pens, rubber key chains.

Is this because I am raw? Am I eating to much citrus? The teeth grinding / clenching at night is the main cause, but I have never felt this type of pressure around my jaw and how my teeth feel ultra sensitive since going raw.

Comments

  • queenfluffqueenfluff Raw Newbie

    This has nothing to do with being raw. I had this before I went raw. Mine is better than it used to be – I stopped the teeth grinding.I still clench at night and sometimes when I am working on the computer or stressed in traffic etc.

    Your teeth hurt because you are putting pressure on them. You are clenching in your sleep and don’t realize it (do your jaw muscles ache in the morning?) This is stress related. I try to sleep on my back and try to do “checks” to make sure my jaw is relaxed.

    For the teeth and joints you might want to try supplementing with MSM.

  • Thanks. Im not very stressed in my life really, so I couldnt figure our why it would start hurting worse, then I though of all the lemons and oranges im eating and maybe they become sensitive.

    My jaw does feel really tight for the past few weeks though.

  • Teeth clenching and cramping/jaw pressure is caused from stress/anxiety. I would suggest some sort of relaxation technique. For me I have applied warm compresses to my face for relaxation. I def. also agree withqueenfluff, MSM works wonders. Good luck to you.

  • Thats the thing. I dont feel stressed. I feel hyper all the time, but not stressed.

    I am thinking of things that can cause this without stress and the only thing I can think of is this: For a while now I have been trying to work with energy. In my martial arts and in my sex life. I havent used any grounding techniques to push my energy out of the upper body/head in a long time. Could all that energy be causing that pressure?

  • That could happen. I believe anytime we put are minds or body into overdrive it can cause a stress reaction. Maybe stress is the wrong word but you may be creating a pressure and it’s coming out in your “weak” proned area such as your jaw. I think most people live with some sort of stress even if we are not completely aware. For me it’s like having very intense dreams. Not really aware when I am awake of things but they come out when I am in sleep/relaxed mode. I think that may be true for your clenching and grinding. Of course I am not a medical Dr. I would try anything that seems good for you. Believe me a sore jaw is not fun,for me it makes me more tense. Hope I have helped?Again,good luck to you. For fun google teeth grinding and jaw tension.

  • Googled it and found a lot of stuff that will help :) I am going to ground some of my energy tonight and see if that will help also.

    Its the same here, my dreams are usually the source/release of my stress.

    Thanks for your help!

  • Anytime,good luck!

  • queenfluffqueenfluff Raw Newbie

    Even if you are not stressed if you have any “worries” at all – you might be taking them to sleep with you. Even worrying about what might be wrong with your jaw too! This is what I do – even if I have no stress, I still have things I worry about and I tend to fret over them.

    One thing that MIGHT be a factor but I don’t know if it applies to you is that – I actually went to a neuromuscular dentist once for pain in my TMJ joint and ringing in my ears. His theory was that I didn’t have the same amount of teeth on the top as I do on the bottom. I had braces when I was young and they pulled out several teeth on top to straight out my teeth. He said they don’t take into account that you need to have the same amount of teeth on top as on bottom for chewing and when people don’t their jaws become misaligned and it leads to pain and things like the teeth grinding, clenching etc. Then your TMJ joints can start to disintegrate if it goes on long enough esp the grinding.

    Basically, his plan to fix would be to have braces all over again! No way! Plus some other stuff like a tooth guard you would wear all day! Eeek! Was it expensive!

    So, if you ever had braces and had teeth removed because of them – it is something to keep in mind.

    I would just keep mindful that your jaw is relaxed and when you catch yourself clenching – stop and force yourself to relax those muscles. I often will stretch my mouth open really wide like a big yawn or like I am at the dentist – the muscles feel a little better if I stretch them out. It is a good way to gage how much you have been clenching too – if the muscles hurt when you do that than you know they have been being worn on.

  • The same thing happened to me a couple of years ago. It finally went away. But it sounds like you have found your answer but anyway I would try warm baths at night if that is an option for you and adding ginger to things like smoothies. It helps purify your lymph system. If you take supplements gaba- gama amino butric acid can help with pain and relaxation- particularily related to repetition injuriies or pinched nerves. I hope you feel better..=)

  • blujett8blujett8 Raw Newbie

    hey jkd

    If you find any useful info let me know- I’ve had this problem my whole life and it drives me crazy. I’m not a very stressed person…energized, maybe at times. I’ve heard that detoxing can cause it to get worse as you reprocess old trauma and release PTSD. whatever, nothing has helped me and I;d love to not wear this stupid thing in my mouth every night!!! peace Heather

  • blujett8: I took some of the peoples advice on here, and a little of my own advice and it helped the past two nights.

    Through out the day I make sure I am not clenching my teeth. Before I go to bed I get a warm wash cloth and lay it on my jaws. After that I massage my jaws a little and try stretching them with large yawns. Then all that energy work I do (read earlier posts) I ground it before I go to bed, so it gets out of my head and I dont feel all the pressure up there. I still sleep with the god awful thing in my mouth, but I when I wake up I feel I didnt even need it. Last night was a little bad, I was a bit stressed, but it hurts way less than ever before.

  • blujett8blujett8 Raw Newbie

    thanks jkd

    I ‘ll give it a try. def. could use some grounding. Also, the past few nights before falling to sleep Ive been meditating on the concept that I am being breathed…kind of like expanding into to a giant relaxing pool of ether….helps me fully release my jaw…

    Good Luck

  • sweetpeasweetpea Raw Newbie

    Victoria Boutenko sells a munchie thing that you chew on. It strenghtens the jaw muscles and help correct misalignment. I really notice the difference. After I use it I feel like someones punched me but it’s just my jaw being put into place. My dentist said I had misalignment so I got the munchie for about $45 instead of his $8000 recommended treatment! I also use a gum guard at night that protects my teeth from wearing down through grinding and clenching. Generally, I notice that clenching and grinding are worse during the Autumn and when I take too many sea veggies or salt.

  • Ill check that out because I do have a slight overbite. But wouldnt streghtening jaw muscles not help grinding/clenching your jaw?

  • blujett8blujett8 Raw Newbie

    yeah, my teeth are all misaligned back there. not sure I have much hope for fixing that…..interesting point about the Autumn. I agree.

  • teeth grinding can also be an indication of parasites and/or a mineral/vitamin deficiency such as magnesium, or pantothenic acid-a B vitamin. And although you didn’t say if you are chewing on anything other than rubber (ice maybe?) eating of non-food items, which is called pica, can be an indication of iron or zinc deficiency. Try googling parasites + teeth grinding and also pica. It may of course be stress but deficiencies should be addressed if they are present.

  • Dito on the parasites! you will find alot of information online. good luck. and always educate yourself on all subjects.

  • sweetpeasweetpea Raw Newbie

    Well, I’m working on cleansing the liver so it may be linked and agree with the possiblities or parasites. But looking at it, it could be linked to dreams and suchlike. So, yes it’s important to make sure we are getting sufficient nutrition and rest during the day. I also believe it’s a vata tendency, so addressing any aggravation there will help to. I think my dentist said it was related to power struggle!

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