
Ask HN: Has anyone fixed their own bruxism? - graeme
I’ve clenched my teeth for 9-10 years. It either happened from a bike accident hurting my left jaw, wisdom teeth extraction, or stress from starting a business. All three happened pretty near together. It is not malocclusion, dentist ruled that out.<p>I clench. No longer damaging my teeth as I have a guard. But I still have tight masseters and neck pain.<p>I would like to eliminate or reduce the habit. Has anyone succeeded in doing so?
======
11thEarlOfMar
Being that this is Hacker News, and thinking completely off the top of my
head...

I fixed my sleep apnea by sleeping with an oxymeter on. When breathing was
obstructed, my blood oxygen dropped. The oxymeter beeped and woke me up. I
changed positions, and went back to sleep, ultimately changing sleep habits to
the point that I can get through most nights without awakening. I was able to
avoid using a CPAP that way.

Perhaps a muscle tension sensing device, such as
[https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13723](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13723)
could serve a similar function. Place the sensors on your jaw muscles while
you sleep (may only need to be one of them) and if you clench, it beeps or
buzzes and wakes you up. May take some inventiveness to integrate it with
power and alert, and then to get it comfortable enough to sleep in. And you'd
want to avoid any cords that could wrap around you.

It may not lead to a cure, but might give you an idea of what's going on when
you clench at night.

~~~
elric
Sleep apnea is a problem for two reasons: low oxygen saturation is Very Bad,
and frequent arousals are Bad.

Sounds like you've managed to address the first issue, but without a sleep
study it's impossible to say for sure whether you've addressed the second
problem.

Most apneas typically occur during REM sleep, when muscle tone is at its
lowest and airways are more likely to collapse. If you frequently wake up
during REM (even if it's a micro-arousal), your sleep architecture is broken.

It boggles the mind that sleep apnea severity is diagnosed on number of events
(AHI) without considering when those events occur. Maybe you have an AHI of 3,
but if they all happen during 2 hours of REM, you basically wake up 24 times
during REM, which sounds a lot worse than 3 events per hour.

Sauce: have sleep apnea, hate the machine, but have learned to live with it.

~~~
Viliam1234
I fixed my sleep apnea using a Velumount device, which is simply a piece of
wire you stick in your throat before you go to sleep, and it keeps the
important part of throat unblocked during the night. One of those things that
truly deserve to be called " _life_ hacks".

Learning how to use it is a lot of "fun" (expect to spend half of the day
vomiting until you learn how to insert it properly), but afterwards it works
like magic.

I would recommend to try it, and verify by oxymeter how it works.

~~~
ariste
I would love to try this, but I don't believe they are available in the US.
Are they custom made?

~~~
TheCapeGreek
According to velumount.ch (and the other location sites), it does need a
fitting session to mould it. I wasn't able to find a price list for my country
and the doctor who would do the fitting is in another city, so it is pricey
overall it seems. Especially if the Swiss pricing is anything to go by.

The product itself seems like it's supposed to be malleable to adjust to the
individual, which kind of makes the fitting session + workshop seem like rent
seeking. Just give me an instruction booklet with FAQ and warnings.

~~~
Viliam1234
Not sure if I understood it correctly, but the branch in Hungary seems to do
it for 120000 HFT = 350 EUR.

If you have a friend who is a customer, he could (this is cheating) buy one
for you (pretending it is a replacement for him), and explain to you how to
use it. You save a lot of money, but the disadvantage is that it is not fitted
for you. I am not sure what difference it makes.

So, if that is an option, I would recommend buying one via friend, testing it
(with oxymeter), and if you are satisfied, follow the official channels
(through Hungary). At the moment you are sure the solution works for you, I
think it is worth the money, considering how costly and/or inconvenient are
the alternative solutions. (Then you can do an extra test whether having the
wire fitted for you is an improvement.)

(It would probably also make sense to take photos of the wire immediately
after you buy, so that you can try making duplicates later when the original
piece breaks or loses shape.)

------
sevencolors
In my experience you'll need to build up a toolbox of ways to help solve the
root cause.

For the past 10 years I've been lightly grinding my teeth. Previous partners
have noticed it at night and my dentist has suggested a mouth guard in the
past to help.

I hate the feel of a mouth guard so avoided the suggestion for years and also
avoided trying to solve it. But in the past 3 years i accidentally discovered
the root cause and have been using various methodologies that as a side effect
have mostly got it to stop.

Root cause: Trauma. (this can be either mental and/or physical)

The body will attempt to protect you in different ways. Tension, clenching,
stiffness, etc. These are short term strategies which can be useful. But if
the trauma isn't worked out it can leave the sympathetic nervous system in a
heightened state.

Toolbox: (I like this metaphor because it's never one "trick" to fix things)

* Therapy - Seems obvious in retrospect but i was very skeptical at first. I ended up seeing one who specialized in mindfulness & cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). But you'll want to see what system works best for you

* Acupuncture

* Meditation practice

* Literally learning how to breathe (i would oddly hold my breath)

Using this toolbox has been a life-changer for various "bugs" in my life. Many
i wrongly assumed were unfixable.

All of this has led me to feel calmer. Which has relaxed my body and helped
with my posture. I can sleep better, and this lowered heightened state has
largely removed my jaw clenching.

Find a way that works for you. But know that it's not a forever issue <3

~~~
DenisM
> Literally learning how to breathe (i would oddly hold my breath)

How did you go about learning?

~~~
gotem
Would love to know as well. I often find that I've been holding my breath for
quite a while whether I'm reading or working and suddenly will gasp for air.

~~~
sevencolors
Responded above, basically learning to breath in meditation showed me how much
i was holding my breath.

Now it's almost unconscious when I'm sensing anxiety/tensions rising. I'll
start focusing on my breathing to bring me back to a calmer state

------
kerkeslager
Two things:

1\. Reducing caffeine intake. The science seems to be fairly conclusive that
high caffeine intake is associated with bruxism.

2\. Magnesium supplementation. Here the science is a bit less clear: I haven't
found any study tying magnesium to bruxism, but there _are_ studies
correlating magnesium deficiency with conditions related to bruxism, such as
anxiety and muscle tension. In any case I think the risks of magnesium
supplementation are low.

I will say that my experience with grinding my teeth stopping was that it
probably went away because of changes that were out of my control that made my
life much less stressful. But those aren't much good as interventions.

~~~
santa_boy
Just inquisitive. How much is a high caffeine intake? What is a reasonable way
to size my consumption?

I drink 3 cups of Black coffee every day. 2 after waking up and then 1 in the
evening.

Black coffee has been perpetrated as a magic potion by the latest weight loss
consultants. It adds to my feel good factor.

~~~
kerkeslager
Well, I don't know enough to answer all your questions with certitude, but I
know that for me if I drank a cup of coffee in the evening I would almost
certainly grind my teeth that night. I still drink coffee (and a lot more than
you) in the mornings but never after 2pm.

I will also add that coffee dehydrates you, which can also be associated with
muscle tension and anxiety. So maybe make sure you're drinking enough water
(and electrolytes!) as well.

I feel ya on the feel good factor though. It would take some serious side
effects for me to want to quit coffee.

------
chufucious
I've had problems with bruxism for decades. Dentist said it was stress, he
gave me a mouthguard and I proceeded to break it. I would still grind my teeth
even if I was super relaxed.

I now do something that has reduced my bruxism by a LOT:

Mouth taping.

My dad's old college roommate is a bruxism expert and wrote to me:

"Bruxism is the body's attempt to dilate pharyngeal muscles to open the airway
and facilitate breathing. You probably snore and or have sleep apnea."

Mouth taping solves this because it forces my body to breath thru the nose vs
the mouth and consequently I get more oxygen and much better sleep.

Add a magnesium supplement to this and I'm doing so much better.

EDIT: Forgot to mention I had bad allergies and have asthma so I learned bad
breathing habits early on. AKA mouth breathing.

A simple test: Where is your tongue resting right now? If it's at the bottom
of your mouth, you're probably a mouth breather. And that's not good!

~~~
graeme
Hmm. My tongue is always t the roof of my mouth when awake. But my nose gets
stuffed when I sleep. Does yours with allergies?

I ordered some breathe right things for the nose for sleep to try to improve
this, hoping it helps with bruxism. If they work and I still have it, will try
tape. Want to make sure I don’t suffocate first due to blocked nose haha.

~~~
chufucious
Try mouth taping. I suggest 3m Micropore tape.

My nose gets clogged sometimes but when you force yourself to breathe through
your nose, your body tries to accommodate and opens it up. It will feel weird
in the first week but you'll get used to it.

I'd skip breathe right and go straight to tape! I tried breathe right but I
was still mouth breathing.

I started with [https://somnifix.com/products/mouth-strips-snoring-sleep-
aid](https://somnifix.com/products/mouth-strips-snoring-sleep-aid) – they have
a tiny cut in the tape that allows some airflow; but it got too costly and
wasteful so I moved to 3M's Micropore.

------
ornornor
For me it was definitely stress related. The shittier the job the worse it
got. I realize this is not a solution for everyone but what fixed it for me
was to leave North America altogether and move to a country in Europe where it
doesn’t feel like companies are employee grinding machines, with sustainable
work week length and hours expectations, and 6 weeks PTO a year.

OP I would seriously look into reducing stress. Maybe that means scaling down
your business, or learning to say no, or getting better work and life
habits... I don’t know you so I can’t specifically tell bit id look in that
direction.

------
smhmd
I don't grind my teeth, but one thing I do is that I hold my breath when I'm
thinking or doing something irritating like reading bad docs. When I started
programming two years ago, I thought that it would be impossible for me to
continue because I was stuck too often and didn't breathe. It got a little
better since then.

~~~
glitcher
> or doing something irritating like reading bad docs

Not to make light of your situation, but this made me chuckle.

I think earlier in my programming career I suffered a lot of anxiety from
imposter syndrome. Learning to let go of that gradually over time has me
experiencing a lot less work related anxiety, but I can definitely relate to
your experience.

------
dayandtime
I have wear on my teeth from cronic grinding during sleep years ago when I was
objectively under huge stress but felt fine . I suggest you write out every
possible source of stress you can think of or guess might by in your
subconscious past, present ant future. Past e.g. difficult experiences.
Present: e.g. financial, relationship. Future: e.g. getting old, sick unable
to work. Do this every day expanding on the previous day for a month. I can't
say for sure if this stopped my problem but my grinding did stop and never
returned.

~~~
graeme
Interesting. You just wrote them out, no analysis?

And did you use pen + paper, or digital?

~~~
dayandtime
I still have the notebook I wrote in but haven't looked in it for years. I
feel I would be inhibited if it were digital a notebook feels more private.
Yes just write it out no analysis.

------
bagpuss
I had exactly what you describe, with similar root causes. A 360 degree x-ray
showed uneven wear of the jaw bone at the condyles (where lower jaw meets
upper jaw)

One set of botox injections into the masseter muscles completely solved this.
About $250 (a cosmetic type procedure performed by doctor). It has never
returned, it’s been about 3 years.

~~~
Marsymars
Botox has some wacky non-cosmetic applications. I've got a friends whose
migraines are entirely suppressed by regular Botox injections.

~~~
mxd3
It's entirely possible that your friend's "migraines" are actually the
headaches experienced by persons with TMJ (caused by bruxism). I say this as
someone who has this condition and was previously misdiagnosed with migraines.

------
DrAwdeOccarim
When I was 28, I presented with terrible TMJ pain. Turns out my sleep apnea
led to grinding my teeth at night, putting horrible strain on my TMJ all
night. Got a mandibular advancement device (MAD) and fixed both issues in like
day. Changed my life, slept great, felt great. But, these devices only work
for 8-10 years before your jaw permanently changes and your bite starts
misaligning toward underbite. So I slowly transitioned over to CPAP when I
felt my teeth were no longer snapping back into place in the morning. After 3
years of CPAP and no MAD, my jaw is 95% back to normal. So keep that in mind.
I'd also recommend getting a back-up dental appliance in case yours breaks, or
learning how to use CPAP now while you don't need it. Some of the worst stress
of my life was when my MAD broke and it took months to get a new one...ugh, I
still have latent traumatic responses thinking about that point in my life. I
had moved jobs and insurance so finding someone who would do it required
significant searching. Medical insurance hates paying for MADs, you gotta make
sure you have a solid TMJ disorder diagnosis from an MD and then find a
dentist that will do it.

~~~
graeme
Thanks. Reqd of MAD devices. May be worth it as a temporary solution, as long
as temp use won’t disturb my jaw.

Do you still use the cpap? And do you think it will be for life or will the
issue resolve when your jaw is fixed?

~~~
DrAwdeOccarim
Good question. Yes, I still use the CPAP and I really love it. It's not
something I even notice when sleeping any longer. The devices are also very
quiet now (I use an AirSense10 with heated line and nasal pillows). Combining
SleepyHead software to look into the data and with a Dreem sleep device for
EEG, it's incredible the quality of sleep I get. I used to also add pulseox
data, but I've since stopped since it never fluctuated while using the CPAP
correctly. I've also had turbinate and nasal polyp issues my whole life until
I began CPAP usage--the filtered, warm, moist air has done wonders for my
sinuses, to the point where I avoided surgery.

So to answer your question, no, I got my time with the MAD. I do not expect to
be able to go back to it. I view it as a temporary solution in hindsight since
around the 8-10 yr mark it will permanently change your jaw. It allowed me
freedom to sleep at partners houses and travel, but now that I have kids and
stuff, I no longer need the flexibility of the MAD. Plus, I like being able to
chew food normally :)

------
joekrill
I've been reading this book "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art" by James
Nestor. He attributes this sort of thing to, effectively, "mouth breathing",
and suggests it can be fixed by learning to breath correctly (through the
nose).

I have no idea if it's bullshit or not, but it's compelling. Would love to
hear from anyone that has insight into this.

~~~
elric
I can't speak for bruxism link, but mouth breathing is pretty awful. You're
completely bypassing the filtering that goes on in the nose, the air
conditioning (temperature and humidity), and gas exchange in the paranasal
sinuses (nitric oxide). In addition, you're more likely to overbreathe through
your mouth.

------
gandutraveler
I never used to grid the teeth but in last 6 years due to work stress I put on
weight, sleeping cycle got messed up and just last year in may my dentist told
me that I grind my teeth. I tried the mouth guard for few months which seemed
to work. But these things are expensive. 6 months back I was also diagnosed
with sleep apnea so the sleep specialist suggested CPAP. Surprisingly with the
CPAP machine I have completely stopped grinding my teeth. It makes me wonder
that teeth grinding is highly correlated to breathing and quality of sleep.

~~~
randycupertino
> It makes me wonder that teeth grinding is highly correlated to breathing and
> quality of sleep.

I'm a respiratory therapist and grinding is highly common with sleep apnea.
Basically, the brain stimulates the jaw to try and move in an attempt to open
the airway when it's not getting enough oxygen. Losing weight, getting tonsils
out (if you still have them), fixing a deviated septum and soft tissue removal
(basically, an ENT does a rotor rooter to the upper throat area) or surgery to
bring the jaw forward all can help.

60% of the time, losing 30-40lbs will correct it for the majority of people
grinding. CPAP helps immensely as well.

~~~
M5x7wI3CmbEem10
I’m quite skinny already, but definitely don’t feel refreshed after sleep.

I visited an ENT once for chronic fatigue. I was told that I had a slightly
deviated septum from a possible childhood injury, but surgical correction was
optional. Do you think it would be worth fixing? I’m apprehensive about going
under a knife.

I currently only breathe through one nostril at a time, but the one I breathe
from changes randomly.

~~~
hirsin
I suffered the same thing (deviated septum runs in the family it seems). I
just got the septoplasty and a turbinate reduction done (3 weeks ago) and even
though I'm not fully recovered I can already breathe better than ever before.
The recovery was also very easy. I highly, highly recommend it.

~~~
M5x7wI3CmbEem10
do you breathe through both nostrils now? how bad was your deviated septum?

your procedure sounds terrifying, and I’d prefer to do something minimally
invasive if possible. I wonder if you can do a septoplasty via physical
realignment rather than cutting anything open.

~~~
hirsin
I can! And previously could not. The process isn't bad, and isn't terribly
invasive. I had a sore nose for a few days, took Tylenol to recover, and was
back at work 4 days later (sat, sun, Monday off, Tuesday half capacity,
Wednesday back in full). Got the stents out Thursday.

My surgeon characterized my septum as "not the worst he's ever seen but
definitely not minor". If you're around Seattle, it was Chris Yang at Swedish
who did it.

------
mrwww
Two things has greatly reduced it and it resulted in a significant change in
general QOL for me; 1\. bite guard when sleeping. 2\. jaw relaxation exercise
program.

I have a malocclusion however. So ymmv perhaps.

Ask your dentist for a jaw relax program. It's just 5-6 simple exercises you
do with your jaw, (I could upload a copy of my pdf if you'd like).

Something I'm looking into now is myofunctional training/exersices (haven't
tried yet). The "science" on it doesn't seem 100% yet, and mostly promoted by
one company. Thoughts?

Edit: forgot to mention that physiotherapy helped immensely as well. I had
poor posture/forward tilting head, which i believe i feel into due to my
malocclusion. Perhaps be wary of aches/bad alignment/discomfort in neck and
shoulders and see whether physio for that could help alleviate.

~~~
bperk
Would like to see the jaw exercises PDF if you'd be willing to share.

~~~
mrwww
there are several;

[https://www.mah.se/fakulteter-och-omraden/Odontologiska-
faku...](https://www.mah.se/fakulteter-och-omraden/Odontologiska-
fakulteten/Avdelning-och-kansli/Klinisk-bettfysiologi/Tandvard/Program-for-
rorelsetraning/)

I'm using the first one. Pardon the swedish but pictures/google translate
should sort things out. That's from a orofacial pain dept at a swedish uni

------
mlthoughts2018
1\. try lots of night guards, don’t stop just when you find one you can sleep
with. Some offer even more comfort, etc. that can reduce clenching or soreness
beyond just preventing grinding.

2\. muscle relaxers if your doctor thinks it can help.

3\. reducing stress

4\. improve sleep posture and quality of bedding

5\. establish rigorous sleep habits, like when you stop eating at night, when
you stop using devices, adequate darkness, temperature control

No solution is guaranteed, it will be different for everyone. For me
personally the main thing was trying many night guards even after finding one
I could sleep with.

The most frustrating thing for me is that clenching recurs with work stress.
I’ve talked to endless doctors and counselors about it, basically nothing
anyone can do to help.

------
Taek
Hey, I used to struggle with jaw clenching, nonstop. My masseters were huge, I
looked something like a chipmunk and by the time I found a solution I was
having continuous daily pain. I realized I needed help when one day I caught
myself rocking back and forth just to cope with how much pain I was in. Saw
multiple specialists at several different hospitals.

Full-stop, the most helpful thing was physical therapy. The process itself was
super painful, there were exercises we did involving pinching the muscle and
me opening my jaw which were easily some of the most piercing moments of my
life. There were also these metal scraping things we used which would leave my
whole face red and inflamed for many hours. But I would walk away from a
session feeling like my muscles were looser.

I think it took about 3 months to get to the point where I was no longer in
continuous pain at home. About 6 months (and several thousand dollars of PT -
$70 three times a week adds up) until I was comfortable dropping PT.

Two other things that helped, though difficult to know exactly how much:

1\. Braces. I had braces a second time in my 20's because it was supposed to
help. I think in the end they weren't necessary and PT alone would have been
enough. Certainly the pain was gone long before the braces were gone. But my
teeth are straight again, so I guess that's a win.

2\. An awareness app that beeped at me every 15 minutes. The beep meant "check
your jaw, put some space between your teeth (like 1mm) and unclench your
muscles". Over time I was able to gain awareness and control over all the
muscles in my face and neck and forcibly relax them. I don't think this would
have been effective without the PT, my muscles were locked into place when I
started PT and it was only the PT that got them loose again.

If I were to start struggling with this issue again, I'd go back to PT and I'd
set up a 15 minute beeper again.

Can't stress enough how much PT helped. Through the 6 months, we ended up
targeting probably every muscle group from the shoulders up. They were all
tense together, and there's no way I would have found all of those muscles on
my own, nor identified how much they worked together in causing all the
clenching. It really was a whole-face-and-neck problem.

~~~
graeme
Hmm, I tried PT, but not so intensively. I had been about to target it
specifically again before covid hit. Once the pandemic passes I will try this.
Thanks!

Do you remember the awareness app?

------
edoardoo
Yes! In my case was just a matter of head position on the pillow + stress.
With half head on the pillow and half off, my jaw was hanging and I
unconsciously tightened my teeth all nigh long in order to keep my mouth
closed. Problem solved after 2 months of hell and 2 dentists, the first of
which wanted to remove my perfectly sane wisdom teeth. Also, dedicating more
time to extra work activities, instead of work, helped a lot.

~~~
graeme
What position did you settle on? And you mean tidying loose ends in live
outside work, right?

------
offsky
About 10 years ago I slept with a headband my dentist recommended that could
detect clenching and would beep. It would wake me up just enough to stop
clenching. It was horrible sleep but worked after awhile and I stopped
clenching at night and didn’t need the headband anymore. I still sleep with a
nightguard regardless. Don’t remember the name of the headband, sorry. I got
rid of it years ago.

~~~
troydavis
That sounds like SleepGuard:
[https://mysleepguard.com/](https://mysleepguard.com/)

~~~
graeme
Did you use it? I couldn’t get it to work previously, but have bought some
electrode gel to try it again.

~~~
troydavis
Yes. It worked fine for me and appeared to help a lot, though with a sample of
1 it’s hard to say. I can say that reducing (but nowhere near eliminating…)
stress and using SleepGuard ended nighttime grinding many years ago and that
SG reliably beeped anytime mouth tension occurred. Arguably the root cause was
a bad bite, which I later fixed with Invisalign.

For OP, I’d definitely recommend at least trying it. I’d also suggest a taking
a 1-2 month mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) class. Finally, if you
get a night guard, try to get it from an orthodontist rather than a dentist.
They take much more accurate impressions (often 3D scans now), know more about
jaw mechanics, and may have access to more guard/retainer materials (like
clear plastic liners).

------
tinganho
Take my argument with a grain of salt. I'm not an expert. But, if nothing
helped you. I can give you my experience.

What really helped me. I went from grinding a lot to almost nothing. Was, I
fixed my teeth. My front teeth was a bit worn out from acid drinking and food
taking. Though, they looked quite normal. My problem was that my teeth where
porous. Acid always slipped into to the pores, which cause my teeths to
hurt(more like itching, think like a small scratch whom). Not even brushing my
teeths or washing them with listerin helped, because the acid slipped very
deep into the pores. Dentists couldn't see from any xray scan what was wrong,
so they refused to give me any treatment that would remove some parts of the
teeth. It took me a lot of effort to convince a dentist to get me something
that almost resembles a teeth crown(it was more like a filling). After getting
these teeth crowns, me and my wife have not noticed any teeth grinding since.

I'm beginning to suspect whether bruxism is caused by the body's reflex to
tooth ache? Note, I have amateur researched this topic a lot and I don't quite
bought the argument of stress, but I was pretty convinced about the argument
of the body's reaction to insufficient oxygen. But, I didn't quite bought this
argument either. Because, if we worn out our teeth, it would be naturally
deselected by Darwin's law a long time ago. Since, we would have a small
deficiency of chewing. And it would be strange if only humans did tooth
grinding and not other animals? But, what we humans have been doing a bit more
recently is having an increased acid consumption, which lead to my argument if
bruxism is just a reflex to tooth ache?

Note, there are treatment like (epoxy??) that can fill the pores, though it
didn't helped with my ache. Once, the tooth ache was gone, so was my teeth
grinding.

------
m3kw9
Try this from my experience. During the day, you may not notice, sometimes you
would clench your teeth slightly, that’s why you may not notice it. When ever
you start to notice, open your month wide a few time for a few seconds. And
keep doing that, it helped to reverse habits. Would take a while to reverse
the longer you had it, but be persistent.

~~~
graeme
Thanks! Did your nighttime bruxism stop completely?

~~~
m3kw9
I caught it early because I notice my jaw was tired of in the morning. And it
slowly stopped but it came and went, but eventually it did stop. Just try to
be very conscious about even the slightest clenches and fight it. Took a
couple weeks or months.

~~~
graeme
I’m giving it a shot. Neat idea, basically trying to condition a
reflex/pattern of motion while awake, since we can’t in sleep.

------
shaggyfrog
I use an NTI: [https://nationaldentex.com/products/headache-therapy/nti-
tss...](https://nationaldentex.com/products/headache-therapy/nti-tss-plus)

Well, two actually; one of the top and one on the bottom. It prevents the jaw
from clenching at night.

~~~
gww
Having one on the top and bottom is critical. When I was young my dentist gave
me one that was only at the top and the constant grinding wore down my bottom
teeth.

------
furstenheim
Same here. I have the impression that it has improved by

a) having a softer pillow.

b) having a hard guard. Before that I had a gummy-like guard. According to the
new dentist the was making the bruxism worse.

~~~
graeme
Did they say why soft guard made it worse? And did you sto or just have less
pain?

~~~
furstenheim
What they said is that if it's gummy, it will induce you to chew during the
night. They claimed that the only approved one was hard, but I didn't verify
that.

I have less pain. But I won't risk sleeping without it

------
seehafer
One counterintuitive thing to consider: poor air quality and allergies can
contribute to bruxism by making it more difficult to breathe thru your nose. I
fixed my allergies via immunotherapy and air quality via a filter and my
bruxism dropped dramatically.

~~~
elric
Are you talking about the therapy where they inject low doses of allergens?
Doesn't that take ages?

~~~
seehafer
Yes. ~5 years. Very very worth it though.

~~~
graeme
How did you determine the correct allergen? I do get a stuffy nose when I
sleep. Not sure what causes it.

------
SirensOfTitan
So I clench my jaw and infrequently wake up gasping for air (like once a
month). Does anyone have any recommendations for a sleep study at home to
determine sleep apnea? I don’t feel comfortable going to a hospital right now
to get a proper study done.

~~~
orisho
Sleep studies are often done at home now using a device you get and then bring
back the next day. It has a finger VO2 sensor, snoring sensor, and you attach
it to your chest to detect breathing. Contact your physician.

~~~
graeme
Wait that’s it? I could probably rig that up myself. Just a pulse oximeter and
a sound recording, not more?

------
verganileonardo
Look, there are two ways to approach this.

1) Physical source

The source could be physical, so you should go to an orthodontist to get a
professional perspective. I've heard of people doing a minor surgery to solve
the problem.

2) Emotional source

The source could also be emotional, as you mentioned. Then, you should seek
professional help (from a therapist) to learn how to deal with the stress you
are feeling. This could mean simply rewiring how you deal with stress,
exercising more often or take medicine.

Sometimes, you simply need to pay attention to how physically tense you are
due to work and try to relax your whole body.

I suffer from the bruxism as well and I got significantly better by going to
therapy.

~~~
graeme
Thanks! How does therapy help?

My stress seems to manifest mainly by muscle tension. I don’t really have what
you would describe as anxious thoughts.

I’ve managed to reduce stress by focussing on my breathe, and relaxing certain
muscles if I notice them tensing. This seems to happen when I’m deep in
thought.

But I don’t really worry about things, have racing thoughts, or anything like
that. Can therapy help this kind of situation?

~~~
jodrellblank
> " _I don’t really have what you would describe as anxious thoughts._ "

Dr David Burns (Cognitive Behavioural Therapist) talks about this in some of
his Feeling Good podcast episodes, patients who say they don't have anxious
thoughts. His position is that they do[1], but they aren't aware of them.

One of his ways to identify them, is to get the patient to identify a specific
time or event when they were anxious and tense (e.g. walking into a meeting,
etc.), and draw a cartoon character in the same situation with a thought
bubble, and then has the patient come up with any reasons why somebody -
anybody - in that same situation might possibly be feeling anxious about
anything. They do.

"... and are you feeling any of those things?" "yes, that's exactly how I'm
feeling".

He's described it at least twice in different episodes, as a very simple but
effective way to dig out the thoughts people have, that they aren't aware of
having.

[1] His approach to therapy is based on the idea that life events lead to
thoughts which create moods; people who have unhelpful thoughts get stuck in
unbalanced moods; methods to identify and change the thoughts is what changes
moods and "cures" people.

~~~
verganileonardo
Awesome example! Thank you

------
doitLP
I’m surprised no one on here has mentioned CO2 levels yet. A simple CO2
monitor will tell you if your ambient co2levels are too high. Modern, newer
homes are like sealed boxes and high levels can exacerbate breathing issues
and by extension, bruxism problems.

I was waking up with headaches after moving into a new apartment. When I first
got and plugged in a monitor the alarm went off because the ambient air was
>3000ppm. Now that I’ve correct the issue with airflow, I sleep better and
don’t wake up with headaches.

~~~
M5x7wI3CmbEem10
do you have any co2 monitor recommendations? the ones on amazon are around
$150

~~~
doitLP
[https://amzn.to/2ZlI0EU](https://amzn.to/2ZlI0EU)

This one is good. The company that makes it co2meter.com is awesome and was
helpful as I was learning more.

I went down a bit of a rabbit hole in general air quality after that. I ended
up with the uHoo monitor. It’s a pricey but great.

------
jbob2000
I recently finished a popular dental alignment program, where you have to wear
aligner trays in your mouth for 22 hours a day. It solved my clenching
problem, but I’m not sure why. I suspect it’s because the aligners created a
Small gap between my bottom and top teeth, which is making it very hard to
clench now. With the aligners on, clenching became very uncomfortable too
because you feel like you’re going to snap the damn things.

Probably a bit of a stretch to pursue dental aligners to fix your bruxism, but
hey!

------
throwaway765858
Actually yes, when it was quite an issue I made sure I sleep on a high pillow.
Just by mechanics it's more difficult to chew on your teeth. Also back then I
only slept on either multiple pillows or thick pillows that are meant for
sofas to have the head higher, just by mechanics it's more difficult to chew.
Also I started the habit to eat chewing gum regularly, it makes the jaw
muscles more tired at night. And, holding your head up high during the day
helps. Especially when sitting on the computer, I highly recommend using an
external screen, so your head is straight.

That in combination was already a game changer.

Also I started the habit to do light sports at least once a week, although
that was mostly because of back pain. The bruxism practically vanished after I
went to the psychologist to treat my anxiety. It was a treatment without
pills, just talking and learning new methods. In my case it was a Systemic
Therapy (I think combined with CBT - though I'm not sure) but YMMV and I think
you need to choose someone you're comfortable with. For me the priority was to
pick someone that I'm comfortable with, that seems to be specialized in what I
think might be the overall issue and that seems to adhere to modern methods.
Whenever I feel tense when going to sleep, I do Progressive Muscle Relaxation
(PMR) which was a recommendation from the Psychologist. There are audios on
the internet which guide you through this, takes 10-15 minutes but now I just
do it myself in 2 minutes. It's kind of a non-issue for me now, I cannot
remember the last time I woke up with my teeth hurting because of that, the
last series must have been years ago.

~~~
sowbug
Opposite experience here with the chewing gum.

My dentist noticed some wear on my molars right around the time I started
experiencing a bunch of minor issues: xerostomia (dry mouth), excessive
salivation (strange to have at the same time as xerostomia), jaw fatigue,
teeth clenching during the day, and an abnormal awareness of the position of
my tongue in my mouth. These were among the many low-priority bugs I'd filed
against my body as I was recovering from chemotherapy.

I started chewing gum to help control the xerostomia, and it became a habit.
Over time, I believe I actually strengthened my jaw muscles enough to make the
bruxism worse, leading to a vicious cycle of needing gum chewing to alleviate
the discomfort from constant jaw clenching. This went on for many years.

About a year ago, after changing nearly everything about my daily routine to
narrow down the cause, I stopped chewing gum, cold turkey. I replaced it with
Tic-Tacs, resolving never to chew them. After a couple months I gave them up,
too. While the bruxism and jaw clenching occasionally come back during times
of work stress, it no longer seems to be a chronic condition, and my mind has
restored enough muscle memory of what a normal mouth feels like that when I
notice it's coming back, I can will myself back into a comfortable state
again.

Hard to say whether the gum really was to blame. but for me, when I stopped
was when I regained control.

------
01100011
Probably not relevant to OP, but FWIW bruxism is often associated with sleep
apnea. If you grind at night and are tired during the day, get a sleep study.

~~~
graeme
Thanks! I had actually asked my doctor for a home test. (Lab tests currently
impractical due to pandemic). We’ll see what the results are.

~~~
kerkeslager
I don't know whether you've been told that lab tests are currently impractical
or whether you're just assuming, but if it's the latter, I would definitely
ask before assuming that they're impractical. Medical professionals are better
equipped to keep you safe than your local supermarket, and it may be that the
local sleep lab is nowhere near places treating covid patients. I haven't
heard this specifically about sleep labs, but I've heard this from friends who
were putting off a few other medical procedures and were advised not to by
doctors. It's at least worth calling the sleep lab and finding out what
protective measures they're taking.

It may be that you're well-informed already and it really is impractical, in
which case I hope I didn't offend you. It's just that my impression is right
now a lot of people are putting off treatment unnecessarily due to covid
concerns.

------
bsima
In my experience teeth grinding is cause by too much coffee and alcohol. My
clenching/grinding always eases up when I abstain from those

------
amasad
After I lost faith in western medicine's ability to help me with this problem
I started tinkering and have come to the conclusion it's related to my
breathing problems: mild sleep apnea and sinus inflammation.

The first thing I did was start sleeping predominantly on my sides and
stomach, which turns out is how people sleep in nature[1]. This made my apnea
all but disappear.

Then after I noticed my sinuses react to dietary changes I went on a carnivore
diet -- basically only meat -- for an extended period of time and my sinuses
fully cleared up. Right now I deviate from the diet a bit but I remain
cautious and it's working out well.

When my breathing improved my clenching subsided.

[1]
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1119282/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1119282/)

~~~
M5x7wI3CmbEem10
doesn’t sleeping on your stomach cause back problems?

~~~
jointpdf
In “Treat Your Own Back” ([https://www.amazon.com/Treat-Your-Back-Robin-
McKenzie/dp/098...](https://www.amazon.com/Treat-Your-Back-Robin-
McKenzie/dp/0987650408/ref=nodl_)), the author—a physiotherapist—accidentally
leaves a back pain patient face down on an examination table with their back
slightly hyperextended (i.e. head and upper back slightly above prone
position). They were horrified that they’d harmed the patient, but instead the
patient felt completely relieved of their pain. This is the story of how the
McKenzie method
([https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKenzie_method](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKenzie_method))
was discovered. Lying prone is the core position of the method (in addition to
progressive back extensions), and it actually works surprisingly well for me.

------
cesarosum
I suffered from mild bruxism about 10 years ago and have had several bouts of
TMJD where I couldn’t close one side of my jaw. For me, the key has been poor
posture induced by stress; these bouts coincide with heavy laptop and mobile
phone use (neck angle forward and down). What fixed it for me was switching to
a good desktop set-up whenever possible and self-treatment via Kelly
Starrett’s Becoming A Supple Leopard (there is whole section in the second
edition on neck and jaw). He has good general advice in this video as well -
[https://youtu.be/kfg_e6YG37U](https://youtu.be/kfg_e6YG37U)

I haven’t used the mouthguard now in probably 5 or more years.

------
mathiscool888
Hey, pretty much got over dealing with this on-off for 2.5 years due to a
combination of depression, stress and a herniated disk in my neck. For the
physical side, you gotta see a PT - the neck especially could take a while to
see progress. Even simple PT exercises initially aggravated the issue, go real
slow and at your own pace. It's taken me 3 months of consistent PT to sleep
pain-free. For the mental side, I recommend a therapist and
mindfulness/meditation.

Learning to sleep on my back was really important too - I used to roll over
onto my stomach a bunch - get a sleep study done if you can

------
sameerds
TIL that this thing had a name. I used to clench my teeth unconsciously for
around two years, until one day I broke a premolar. The reason was mostly
anxiety, unhappiness, etc. I was aware of my mental state but completely
unaware of the clenching. Surprisingly (or not) focusing on the clenching
helped me relax my jaw as well as my mind. Kinda like what is taught in
Vipassana ... just trying to be mindful of what the body is doing helped me
get out. I still find myself clenching my jaw some times, but I quickly relax
when I do.

EDIT: added a missing "body _is doing_"

------
maceurt
Possibly look into "mewing" i.e. orthotropics which deals with proper oral
posture, breathing, and swallowing.

You could also try just putting your tongue on the roof of your mouth when
your mouth is closed (which is what you should be doing anyways). Your tongue
is actually what is supposed to help get your jaw to stay up with a suction
hold against the roof of your mouth, and if you don't have your tongue in that
position then you will have to use only your jaw muscles which can cause to
much pressure.

------
nesyt
When I developed a clenching habit, I resolved it by training myself to put my
tongue in the correct position in my mouth. It is pretty simple: with your
lips closed but your teeth not touching, place the tip of your tongue right
where your gums and your two top front teeth meet. That's it. At first it
takes effort but once the habit and muscle memory develops it'll happen
naturally. This eliminated my bruxism because now my jaw has a healthy resting
state.

------
pdfernhout
A previous dentist recommended -- paradoxically -- actually clenching your
teath consciously a few times for a few seconds each time before going to
sleep. The logic for this was something like how it would make your brain more
conscious of what was going on to prevent it from happening when you were
asleep. I think the other suggestions here on reducing stress, reducing
weight, getting enough magnesium and so on might work better though?

~~~
graeme
Did it work for you?

------
def8cefe
If you have not seen a doctor, do so. Dentists are not MDs. They can help you
fix or prevent damage caused by grinding but they are not qualified to
diagnose or treat the cause despite what they may tell you.

Also don't take medical advice from strangers on the Internet (or request it,
because you just end up helping to generate more insidious noise that will
show up in search results for decades).

~~~
graeme
My doctor told me to ask a dentist iirc

------
abdullahkhalids
I don't know anything about this particular ailment. But look at the
literature for fixing your posture. That also involves changing what your body
is doing at rest while you are not paying attention.

Some of the principles involved in changing your posture (often involving
which muscles are kept relaxed and which stretched) might very well apply to
helping you relax your jaw muscles.

------
Donald
A proper mouth guard will prevent your jaw from closing 100% and will
unprogram the clinching behavior.

------
robbintt
Mine is triggered by: caffeine after 1 pm, cold sleeping conditions, sustained
stress like job stress or family health stress. Maybe related to acid reflux.
Also I sleep on my back to keep force off my jaw. Probably more and maybe
related to congestion, too.

------
enneff
I recently got a mouthguard that sits on my bottom set of teeth and prevents
me from closing my jaw entirely, which I wear while sleeping. It helps a lot.
I wake up with my jaw muscles feeling loose rather than tight and tender.

~~~
graeme
Interesting. What makes this different from a guard worn on top? I have that
but still can clench my jaw.

~~~
enneff
When I had it fitted they told me it could go either way, top or bottom, just
my personal preference.

It stops me from clenching because it makes it uncomfortable.

------
throwaway391003
Read some of Alexander Lowen's books, he talks about how posture can actually
be an indication of something going on emotionally in the person. When people
clench their jaw they're said to be grinding through life.

------
everybodyknows
Yes. Cause was stomach gas. How can you belch when asleep? Not properly, at
least in my case, and manifestation was bruxism.

Fix was of course, a change of eating habits. Specifically, to work around
FODMAP intolerance.

~~~
nikkwong
Also worth noting that bruxism is correlated with gut dysbiosis and parasitic
gut infections which may be otherwise hard to pin down. In my case bruxism was
a notable symptom of the severity of my SIBO—an infiltration of the small
intestine with pathogenic bacteria. It's an incredibly hard condition to spot
and will almost certainly be completely unnoticed by western medical
practitioners. However, it can wreak havoc over your health & well-being and
is worth ruling out if you're generally feeling unwell.

~~~
everybodyknows
How do you treat or mitigate the SIBO?

~~~
nikkwong
Ha! That's the most difficult question of all and there is not one best
answer; it's highly contextual based on the individual's circumstance. The
goal is to eradicate the bacteria; this is usually achieved through
antibiotics, antimicrobials (think herbs/herb oils), and prokinetics (to
increase regularity). It can be a chronic and reoccuring problem in many
individuals and is much more difficult to treat than the apneas,
unfortunately.

------
zero-sum
Benzodiazepines, such as alprazolam, works great for me. Keep in mind that
such drugs should only be used as last resort and for short periods of time,
since it can easily lead to addiction.

------
giardini
Children may manifest bruxism if they have parasites (e.g.,worms).

Parasitic worms were endemic where I was raised. Every childhood physical
included required a fecal sample for parasites. Years later, when I returned
home, it struck me that I hadn't been tested for parasites in decades. Knowing
what I know, I just couldn't believe I had none. So I bought some ivermectin,
measured an amount proportional for my weight and slathered it on. Nothing
happened that I noticed. Any parasites would almost certainly have been
flushed out. Much cheaper than a doctor's visit! And I now have a 5-year
supply of parasiticide!

Posts on HN report ivermectin is being tested against Covid-19 so maybe that's
a plus!8-))

------
emrosenf
Most dentists don’t know what they don’t know. You need to see a physiologic
dentist: lviglobal.com

If you have an hour, join their fb group and watch their video. It will be
quite illuminating.

~~~
graeme
Thanks! What will they do? Did you have this problem?

I will check them out.

~~~
emrosenf
What started out as a desire to get Invisalign turned into a much deeper
journey into understanding the relationship between occlusion, TMJ, posture,
sleep apnea and more.

I'm now almost 18 months into treatment with an LVI dentist in San Jose. I
don't personally have bruxism, but it's very much in the family of issues.

My HN/lay explanation: the jaw seeks an equilibrium position that maximizes
occlusion and minimizes muscular tension. However, many people live in a local
equilibrium where occlusion is maximized but the jaw positioning comes with
increased muscular tension. This tension can lead to symptoms like bruxism,
migraines, etc.

They have a machine called the BioPAK which can track the 3D path of your bite
and measure the tension in the different facial muscles to determine if you
are actually in the globally optimal position.

~~~
graeme
Hmm, no dentists of that type anywhere near me. Is there any other relevant
organization that might have dentists with similar expertise?

------
11235813213455
The ideal natural position of your jaw is actually when your teeth (lower and
upper range) don't touch, with a 1 or 2cm gap, and with your tongue touching
your palate

------
GEBBL
Does anyone’s jaw click? I can make the right side click at will. I think it’s
off aligned. It’s not sore but I think it must be common enough that someone
knows the cause?

~~~
sevencolors
Yeah i can make my left side "click" by opening my mouth to it's widest. I got
hit with a soccer ball directly at my chin in high-school. Been doing it
since.

I've asked every type of dentist about it and had one x-ray it. They all say
unless it's painful it's probably nothing and I'll be fine. Which technically
i am but it's really annoying.

The only satisfying theory i got was the bone in the joint got chipped when it
got injured. During the healing process it didn't grow back smoothly. So
opening it to it's widest causes it pop like that.

------
sul_tasto
Mine was stress related. I switched jobs and it went away.

------
dricornelius
Reducing stress levels is key: yoga, exercise, omit caffeine, omit alcohol,
eat well, spend time with family and friends, don't forget to breathe.

------
SwiftyBug
I'm surprised that's how it's called in English. It's very similar to how we
called it in Portuguese. How is it pronounced?

------
sombrereptile
Yes, eliminated it by relaxing for 20 mins before going to sleep. Otherwise
the stresses of the day manifest themselves in grinding.

~~~
graeme
Anything specific, or just calm reading etc?

~~~
sombrereptile
I just allow myself to wind down thinking my own thoughts, generally a calm
reflection on what’s happened in the day which often turns into what I want to
do tomorrow.

------
pengaru
If you haven't tried eliminating all stimulants like ADD meds and/or caffeine,
they're obvious places to start.

------
lambdaphagy
Two friends of mine have cured jaw tightness by taking methylfolate.

It may not work for you, but it's cheap to try.

------
robbseaton
Try magnesium.

~~~
dcpdx
Was scrolling through the comments to see if anyone mentioned this. I started
taking magnesium supplements a couple of years ago after hearing somewhere
(forget where at this point) that it helped with teeth grinding. Whenever I'd
go into dentist appointments, they'd always mention something about my teeth
grinding and recommended getting a mouth guard, which I didn't pursue due to
expense. Oddly enough, they never mentioned magnesium. When I started taking
magnesium supplements every day, my grinding almost completely stopped. I now
notice after a couple days if I haven't taken it, my jaw starts tensing up
again and naturally reverts into clenching mode. I don't have any medical
expertise or evidence to back its effectiveness, but it sure worked for me.
Worth a try before exploring other options.

~~~
gnusty_gnurc
Which type/amount of magnesium?

------
akinhwan
so glad you posted this, I was wondering the exact thing coincidentally... My
dentists always notice it and try to get me to spend $600 ish on a guard. i
currently just use a cheap one I bought at walgreens

~~~
mark212
I just got my first guard from Clearclub and it fits great. Less than 1/10 the
price (I think $90 for a year, get a new one every six months) and the same
polymer tray molds that the dentist uses. Might be worth a shot.

I’ve had several night guards from dentists but chewed through them pretty
quickly and it gets expensive.

~~~
awinder
I’ve been wondering about these sites, there’s several of them. I really need
a new guard but I’ve seen some reporting that dentists might be a very high
risk place to be. Did you have any problems with fitting / making the mold?

~~~
mark212
No it was a piece of cake. Exactly like the dentist’s assistant did it at the
office, with likely the same putty. Tray looked the same too.

------
ar21
TLDR; Bought a Remi custom night guard online and finally can wake up feeling
good

Hey! First I want to thank you for posing the question and I would love to
share my experiences with this. Early on during quarantine, I began having a
hard time getting through the night. Oftentimes I’d wake up with severe
headaches and pain in my jaw, which a late-night google binge taught me are
both prominent symptoms of Bruxism.

I found this new sleep & wellness company called Remi (www.shopremi.com) that
makes custom night-guards for individuals who struggle with Bruxism. I ordered
my night-guard and the entire process was super easy all taking places at
home. Remi sent me an “impressions kit”, a do-it-yourself version to make a
mold of my teeth. From it, they created my night guard and sent it back to me.

I've been using my night-guard for about a month or so now and I couldn't be
happier with the results. I can finally sleep well at night and wake up
feeling refreshed.

------
dgm885
I’d did, by giving up all soft drinks. Especially Coke.

~~~
graeme
Do you have caffeine? I don’t drink soft drinks, but coke has caffeine.

~~~
danw1979
Caffeine sets my gnashing off too. two cups of strong coffee in the morning
result in clenching all night and headaches the next day.

Well worth trying to cut it out completely for a few weeks.

------
twobuy
Taking Magnesium supplements can relieve jaw tension.

------
dylanhassinger
for me, cannabis/cbd before bedtime reduces bad dreams and grinding teeth
while sleeping

------
loceng
Two options I'd recommend as your priority - and then two different exercises
you can try now: a jaw exercise to help relax and strengthen the jaw,
strengthening the muscles at an open position vs. how clenching will
strengthen them at a grinding position, and a mouth strengthening exercise.

First of two is lower cost, however if you can afford it you may as well go
for the higher cost option which will have much higher potent healing
potential.

Re: PRP & stem cell treatments

I'd recommend PRP (platelet rich plasma) injections as low cost option for
your jaw including the clenching muscles. PRP is healing property concentrate
from your blood and is highly anti-inflammatory. That alone could help break
the cycle of clenching, and perhaps heal some damage and reduce strains in the
muscles.

The more expensive version is using your own stem cells that can potentially
heal/regenerate the tissues fully. You'd be prescribed opiates for a number of
days and need liquid, soft diet for a few days too. Stem cell treatment would
literally be the best experiment you could try. That you mentioned jaw injury
makes me feel like it's likely the best route, but if you can't afford the
~$7000 - $9000+ USD + travel and stay costs for stem cell treatment, PRP is
usually closer to $1000 but from my own experience only heals maybe the top
20% of pain at a source and not the deeper pains - perhaps a good litmus test
where if you feel improvement but not enough then you'd know that stem cells
would heal further.

There would be enough stem cells to treat more than your jaw as well, and
would be best to also have your neck looked at and treated. Different
doctors/clinics have different requirements before treatment such as seeing an
MRI of the areas to be treated or where they may only use ultrasound to check
and guide them.

I've had my jaw treated multiple times - had a lot of pain from a dislocated
jaw, and also a bicycle collision. My jaw pain is arguably 90%+ lower than it
used to be. I've had a lot in my body treated, I have a complex pain situation
- old injuries that are amplified by central sensitization I developed - so
healing even small injuries helps reduce the pain a lot.

There are two places I've gone for treatment multiple times: a doctor in San
Francisco, California, who uses adipose/fat derived stem cells (think mini
liposuction), and a clinic near Denver, Colorado, that use bone marrow
aspirate (drill into hip bone on both sides of Iliac crest to then suck out
the marrow); then there's processing they do with it, along with drawing blood
to mix the stem cells with PRP to support the healing. You may find a doctor
or clinic closer to you, otherwise I'd trust recommending you to them if you'd
like their details; I have no incentive for referring them to you, you could
tell them I did or not, or hopefully find another place that seems reputable
enough to you - I'm just wanting to help people.

Re: Jaw strengthening exercise

As I said the purpose of this jaw exercise is to help strengthen the muscles
at an open position, which also helps relax the muscles through the resistance
part of the exercise that acts to stretch them.

It's quite simple: 1) Open your mouth enough so your teeth aren't touching
(your lips never need to separate) - you'll find what range of open is
comfortable as you do the strengthening-stretching. 2) Place the fingers of
both hands on your chin - thumbs underneath, other fingers in front with
pinkies next to each other just touching above the last joint, with your
elbows relaxed down. 3) Start by applying slight pressure diagonally towards
the jaw joints which will engage your hands slightly preparing to the hold to
begin. 4) It doesn't matter which order you start in: as you gently pull your
jaw downward with your fingers, resist by engaging your jaw to keep your jaw
from ...

This can stretch out really tight muscles and may cause things like a
headache. It will also help stretch fascia as well that if tightened over time
will contribute to problems.

Re: Mouth strengthening via oil pulling

Oil pulling will strengthen your tongue and the holistic musculature of your
mouth, as well has help stretch it. You can use any type of consumable oil
(though you don't want to swallow it) like coconut oil, however sunflower oil
is more often recommended in certain holistic health circles as sunflowers can
absorb radiation - whether that translates to oil pulling radiation from the
body, I'm unaware if there's any research showing that. The mechanism for
using oil over say water is that it's viscous - and the goal is to keep moving
the oil around as fast as you can for tbe duration: pushing and pulling,
swishing through teeth forward and back, and sides of the mouth through the
teeth, using suction or pressure with the action of the tongue. Try to do it
for 2 minutes when you begin, do it daily to quickly strengthen. Your tongue
and other mouth muscles will get tired but you'll feel a difference and how it
gets easier each day you do it. Use a tablespoon of oil, though if not enough
resistance than add more oil - if too much resistance/difficulty, use less;
mouth size varies. Oil pulling is good for your teeth and gums too. Spit the
oil out into the toilet, it's often suggested then to rinse your mouth,
swishing around like you were, with highly diluted hydrogen peroxide for 5
seconds or so - and can spit that out in sink.

------
ta622
[I'm not a medical professional. This is merely my experience, not medical
advice.]

tl;dr yes; using a pacifier

Here's my experience with sleep and other issues that I've been dealing with
since the beginning of this year. Some background: I was a moderately active
male in my 20s with a perfect BMI. I started a company in January working from
home. Prior conditions: Chronic pain in the sternocleidomastoid area when I
turn my neck. Chronic RSI that made using computer keyboard painful. Chronic
pain behind right eye noticeable when I move it around too much e.g. playing
foosball. Chronic ITBS. Chronic constipation and ensuing haemorrhoidal
problems. I'd generally consider myself a healthy individual. I believe the
average healthy human has dozens of such minor annoyances.

I begun experiencing bruxism (as evidenced by damaged gums from one slightly
misaligned tooth in the morning), frequent intense dreams where I'm not
breathing, lightheadedness/dizziness and memory problems (including amnesia),
worsened chronic neck pain, new chronic right-sided post-nasal drip, inability
to concentrate, and breathlessness/high heart rate after just minor exercise
or even just standing up for a long time. These issues were triggered/made
worse after visiting a proctologist who, in an act of malpractice _, medicated
me with a drug that made me delirious (it wasn 't supposed to) and gave me a
severe headache that lasted 2 days. After the headache subsided I was left
unable to concentrate on work. I tried, and I didn't even realize there's
something wrong for the first couple of days, but my mind was just wandering
all over the place and when I looked at my timesheets at the end of the week
there were just a couple hours of work done. I gave myself a 3-week vacation,
but I didn't see much improvement. I ended up doing no work for three months.

I've been to a dentist, GP, ophthalmology, and ENT and neither had any
findings except for a deviated septum. I haven't been to neurology which had
been next on my list.

First off, I fixed the haemorrhoids by eating oatmeal with added fibre and
psyllium (the doctor didn't even tell me to fix my diet; ironically I read it
in a publication that requires the user to declare they're a certified medical
professional). Note that my case was just prolapsing without bleeding.

I started going to the gym every other day (20 minutes of light cardio + 25
minutes of strength exercise). This had noticeable impact on the
breathlessness/high heart rate. I should note that when exercised too hard it
made the issue worse for the rest of the day.

As for the bruxism, my dentist suggested I get braces, but I can't afford that
anytime soon so I just got a dummy. I got one that lets some air flow by but
not too much so my mouth doesn't get dry. I should stress that the dummy is
impossible to swallow. It sounds awkward, but I can measure how bad my bruxism
is by how injured my gums are and it's worked flawlessly - they recovered in a
couple of days. When a month ago I tried to sleep without it once they got
injured again.

I didn't mention that the headache following the medication was much worse in
a horizontal position and that it didn't subside fully. When I found myself
sleeping on the side or on my stomach I would wake up with a headache. Also
whenever I slept on the side, I would get dizzy and have very poor sleep. I
adjusted my bed so that my head would be above the body level at all times (my
thanks for this advice goes to the NHS website), which helped with the
headache. As for the dizziness I fixed that by sleeping on my back with
sunglasses on because that doesn't allow me to sleep on the side/stomach, and
it also made the bad dreams go away. I wish I got the sunglasses idea earlier.

I moved back in with my parents which relieved my anxiety about spending too
much (>half o my expenses were rent). I now drive to do my work away from
home, which helps with keeping a regular schedule.

I'd like to stress that I don't know what underlying conditions led to such
severe decline. Stress probably played a role as well as everything being shut
down due to COVID-19. But in the end I just know the symptoms and what
triggered it. Today I'm almost fully recovered. Not at the top of my game as I
was before, but I can focus on my work and I've done a lot of progress with my
company this month. Also the RSI that made using the keyboard painful is gone.

p.s. I suspected I may have been suffering from sleep apnoea but I had no way
to verify. I decided to create an app that tracks breathing using a phone's g
sensor and gyroscope. This was when I was starting to recover and I could
start doing lightweight programming work. I implemented a Non-uniform DFT-
based algorithm that suffices with just one axis from the g sensor to reliably
detect breathing while I'm awake with the phone on my stomach. Unfortunately
the parameters that work while awake don't work while asleep - the app would
wake me up the second I started sleeping, just like holding something in your
hand that drops to the floor wakes you at the very moment you fall asleep. I
was going to implement data collection and improve the app after collecting
enough data, but since I got better I returned to work and I'm not really
interested in continuing with this app. If anyone's interested the algorithm's
here: [https://pastebin.com/aVvh8YDK](https://pastebin.com/aVvh8YDK) (sorry
about the quality it's very much WIP & my first Dart project at the same time;
but I believe it's all the math you need unless you want to go full ML).
Here's a demo of the app albeit with just uniform DFT which wasn't great at
fitting the data: [https://gofile.io/d/cTf1y9](https://gofile.io/d/cTf1y9)

_ If anyone with expertise in the field is reading this I wonder whether my
use of the word malpractice is justified. The doctor diagnosed grade 1
external haemorrhoids with slightly increased tone. Was it appropriate to
administer (without my knowledge or prior warning, during what should have
been merely an examination) the following: 20mg extr. belladonnae sicci, 40mg
papaverini hydrochlor., 50mg indometacini, 10mg cinchocaini chlorati; and
prescribe it for me to use over the next 3 months in the form of 36
suppositories? I ignored the prescription and healed with just dietary fibre
and an analgesic OTC ointment.

------
paulcole
What does your dentist recommend? Start there instead of with anecdotes here.

Following the advice of randos has a good chance of damaging your health worse
than it is already.

