Hey, I can understand how that frugality mentality can be tough to shake. I struggle with it sometimes too.
What I came here to say, though, was you can get a custom made mouthguard for like $150 on Amazon. It’s made by the same type of lab that your dentist would send it off to to get it made.
How do I know? My dentist wanted to charge me like $650 cause insurance wouldn’t cover a replacement after my first one was old and nasty. Frugal me said heck no and found one that was just as good for a fraction of the cost. FSA covered it too so it was more like $75 :).
Not sure if I can link to a specific product, but PM me if you want the name of it.
EDIT: I’ve gotten tons of PMs for the mouth guard I got from Amazon so I’m gonna say it’s the one by J&S Labs and hope that’s not against forum rules. Who knew mouth guards were so popular ����♂️?
https://www.amazon.com/Dental-Lab-Mouth-Guard-Lower/dp/B0769GHPRX
There’s a lower and an upper guard you can buy. I got the upper.
Now we’re all a little closer to FI with perfect teeth to go with it ��.
Exact same thing your dentist will make.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0769YSBNX/
Wife has TMJ. We spent the money on one from the dentist for it to get lost after 6 months. Tried the above from Amazon. My wife has said it is the exact same thing she had.
You make a mold just like the dentist does. You send your mold back and they make a custom mouth guard thats the same quality that you'd get if you went to the dentist. I have a feeling dentists send molds off to these same companies to make mouth guards for them.
FYI: There are labs that cut out the dentist as the middle man and can make you custom night guards for half the price. I did one through Amazon for $130 and have been very happy with it.
I grind through mine pretty hard and it helped save me some $.
Wife has TMJ and she was told to get one. We got one from the dentist and spent to much. Wife lost it after a few months. Second one we ordered from Amazon. It was the exact same quality as what the dentist made. I swear the dentist just sends it to these same companies to make. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0769YSBNX/
Along with the suggestions below to shop around the price, there is great company on Amazon that will send you a mold kit and then after you send it back they send you a mouthguard and your mold back for future use.
https://www.amazon.com/Dental-Lab-Mouth-Guard-Lower/dp/B0769GHPRX/
Link to basically what I have, not sure why my dentist called it a chewy but he did say to use it like what you have. I like it, it seats the trays and is kind of soothing lol.
You’re so welcome. I hope it works for you in the short term anyway. I’ve had to use this type in a pinch when I’ve gone on trips and forgot to pack my guard: https://www.amazon.com/Plackers-Grind-Dental-Night-Grinding/dp/B004TD23W2 they work ok but not nearly as good or comfortable as The Doctors one. Just have to really follow the instructions AND give yourself time to get used to wearing it.
They make “one size” mouth guards that might work? I haven’t tried them with braces, so I can’t speak to how well all the extra gear fits in ones mouth though. I once bought like a 30 pack at CVS, but here’s an example. Night Guards
A dentist said the same thing to me.. except he was trying to sell me an expensive surgery instead.
I found a different solution. These are dirt cheap and each one lasts me months https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004TD23W2?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I wanted to share the following here just in case anyone needed the information. We couldn't afford a mouth guard because out of pocket was going to be $500. But the lab that I linked sends you the mould kit to do yourself and then you send it back to them. They make the bite guard (we went with 3mm thick for each of us) and send it back to you and they are really good about fixing issues if there is an issue with the mould or something. This is $130 for one bite guard. (We bought one for each of us.) For my partner, this was a must have because she grinds at night while she's sleeping and was waking up with head pain.
And we do use CBD too. That does help in a lot of ways with the chronic illness and mental health stuff that we deal with.
I've said this elsewhere in this thread. Amazon sells the exact same mouth guard your dentist makes. The dentist my wife went to told us they have to send off the molds to get them made. I swear its the same company below.
I got this mouthguard several years ago and it’s been great.
It was also suggested to me from a dentist to use one hot and one cold ice pack on my jaw for 4 minutes, switching them every 30 seconds. I did this for a bit but I can’t say if it helped.
This is the mouthguard I use. I tried a few styles before settling on this one. I've been using them for years. I used to wear threw them within a couple months but now after a few months I don't see more than a couple bite marks.
I learned how to relax all my muscles before sleeping, particularly in my mouth and face. I used sleep meditations with a body scan, which is basically someone using a calming voice, telling me how to relax each muscle/muscle group.
Everyone else has mentioned a lot of good stuff but I will add that bruxism can be a symptom of iron deficiency.
I bought one at my local pharmacy OTC... You put it in hot water and mold it to your teeth. I think mine was about $40 CAD ... My dentist recommended I try to sleep with one in for a while before paying for a custom one to make sure I can sleep with something in my mouth. I found it bulky, but haven't gotten the custom yet as it is about 10x the price.
Something like this: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0036WTV2C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabt1_zPAUFbPXV6NY0
Yeah I think it is pretty different. I got this one: JS Dental Lab Custom Dental Night Guard, Sleep Mouth Guard for Teeth Grinding, Bruxism & TMJ Relief - Upper Bite Guard https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0769YSBNX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_TKKhFbM4A3D1D
It meant to be used exclusively for sleeping, so it’s pretty comfortable. Takes a few nights to get used to though.
Hi. Fellow misophoniac and teeth grinder here. I've been wearing nightguards for nearly 30 years. Professionally made ones and store bought. This is the BEST store bought one, in my opinion. I've been using them for at least 10 years now. It's easier to close your mouth because it doesn't cover your front teeth. Also keeps your front teeth from being achey in the morning after mashing your teeth together all night. And they last about 4 to 6 months before you have to make another one.
Yes, it's very common. You might want to look into a drugstore molded bite guard.
I know the custom ones are $$$ I like the ones I linked. They're pretty comfortable.
I do that too! I think its more related to my anxiety than ADHD, and it tends to get a lot worse the more stressed I am. Didn't realize how bad it was until my boyfriend recorded what it sounded like LOL.
It's actually really bad for your teeth and jaw though, so I would recommend investing in disposable mouth guards like these. They're not as good as the mouth guard you mold yourself but I am a) to lazy to do that and b) lose them anyway so this is a much better alternative.
Not much... I can't find any research that says anything about TMJ directly causes fatigue (through poor sleep). Anecdotally I've talked with lots of people who claim they sleep much better with their mouth guard...and a dentist I recently saw suggest that even a regular mouth guard could help with apnea (not sure if this is true).
If you have TMJ and are willing to try out a cheap mouthguard you can find out pretty quickly if it has any effect I'd say:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036WTV2C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
That's the one my dentist recommended.
I love these “night guards” because I can wear them during the day when I am stressed, studying, or writing, and once you get used to it people don’t even notice it’s there. Also, their relatively cheap, individually packaged, and disposable, so you can keep one in your backpack/purse/glove compartment for when you need it.
Anxiety doesn't just cause your jaw clenching - it robs you of quality sleep as well. I tell you this because even if you address your jaw clenching, the anxiety can still rob you of Deep, Rem, and total hours slept every night.
In short, you need to get help with your anxiety.
In the meantime, if you want to quickly address the jaw clenching, give these a try (you can get them at Walmart). But, know you are addressing the symptoms, not the problem.
You can also try a low profile bite guard, like these: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004TD23W2
Or full-size mouth guard. Or a prescription mouth guard.
Teeth grinding or jaw clenching is called bruxism and there’s many causes for it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruxism
From all the soft ones I've tried, this one is the most comfortable one for me https://www.amazon.com/Plackers-Grind-Dental-Night-Grinding/dp/B004TD23W2/ref=sr\_1\_14?crid=1PLODZ6J0K5XI&keywords=stop+grinding&qid=1654059870&rdc=1&sprefix=stop+grindin%2Caps%2C286&sr=8-14
Headaches before treatment, definitely - a lack of oxygen does that and I'd say one of the best things about treatment was not waking up with a splitting headache.
With treatment? No headaches. I do have neck pain on occasion, but that's related to sleeping funny not sleep apnea. Do you clench your jaw and grind your teeth? If so, that's the culprit. Try these.
I have found that I snore less and sleep with my mouth closed when I use my mouth guard. I started using it because I clinch my teeth, but this has been a really pleasant side effect. I suspect it's because it corrects my slight over bite.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008YEMVSI/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_BS2Y1K94FR6CVG55V3RK
Get yourself some of these.
https://www.amazon.com/DenTek-Comfort-Fit-Protection-Nightime-Grinding/dp/B002WTCK4Q?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Also, if you have an overbight, be careful not to clench so hard that you pop off one of your lower brackets with your front teeth. Ask me how I know this is possible.
I was initially given bite blocks which are blue things on my teeth to stop me from biting my brackets but I ended up grinding them off. I asked if I could have more added so I didn’t grind (they were big enough to where I couldn’t bite my back molars when I close my mouth) and they were so hesitant to put more on it was so annoying. I ended buying these things at Walmart and I only used them at night, I’ll go back to wearing them at night once I grind off my bite blocks again. You don’t have to mold them which is what I wanted since I don’t wanna do all that tbh lol DenTek , Comfort-Fit Dental Guard For Nighttime Teeth Grinding, 2 count (Packaging May Vary) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002WTCK4Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_CGCQ5B4SF695E3WT6J67?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Adjustable night guard that doesn’t harm back teeth DenTek , Comfort-Fit Dental Guard For Nighttime Teeth Grinding, 2 count (Packaging May Vary) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002WTCK4Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_MNNA5ZHDPJHG3YZQ3CF0
In the meantime, a quick fix could be these:
Plackers Grind No More Dental Night Guard for Teeth Grinding, Blue 10 Count https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004TD23W2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_M55ESQBXX7B1X73MC2BP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
They are soft. Not perfect, but they do reduce the pressure of grinding. I would only recommend that you try to wait to put them on until you are really about to fall asleep. Otherwise, they may trigger grinding while you lie awake because they activate your chewing reflex.
At first I paid $150 through the dentist and then damaged that one. Not wanting to pay more money, I tried OTC and it is 100% the same to me. Something like this LINK