I remember there was quite a bit of discussion a while back regarding TMJ, splints, nightguards, etc. I’m wondering if any of you who explored that path have found any relief from wearing a nightguard or a splint. I went to the dentist today, and he confirmed there is evidence of grinding and clenching on my teeth. I wake up with very tight jaw muscles in the morning. Since my MAV symptoms are worse in the morning, I’m wondering if wearing a nightguard might help.
I remember there was quite a bit of discussion a while back regarding TMJ, splints, nightguards, etc. I’m wondering if any of you who explored that path have found any relief from wearing a nightguard or a splint. I went to the dentist today, and he confirmed there is evidence of grinding and clenching on my teeth. I wake up with very tight jaw muscles in the morning. Since my MAV symptoms are worse in the morning, I’m wondering if wearing a nightguard might help.
Does anyone have any updates or insight to share?
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Marci - I can tell you that I have bad TMJ/TMD and am being treated by a specialist (not a regular dentist). I wear a specially made splint/retainer every night when I sleep and will have to for the rest of my life (for when I lie down, my jaw slides back/around). Now, in terms of the normal TMJ pains that one has, yes, my splint has helped a lot. I still must be very careful about how and what I chew. It is NOT something I wear for MAV. In other words, while my jaw pain CAN make my MAV symptoms a little worse (there is a facial-cranial pain connection according to my neurologist), it is a separate problem (as if I need more - LOL!) I recommend seeing a specialist who deals with TMJ/TMD. It often is not recommended to buy those cheap over the counter mouth guards as they can do more damage. You may not need anything at all; it just depends on how badly you are grinding and if you jaw actually slides out of place like mine does now. They never “fix” this problem btw - the splint only moves the jaw into a better position to relax the muscles, etc. Your jaw then gets used to this position and thus, you don’t have to wear the splint during the day. However, you can easily cause more pain by chewing wrong, etc. I have occasional flareups which then require me to wear the splint 24/7 for a week until the jaw calms down again.
Hope this helped! Best, Bonnie
PS. I should note when people say they have TMJ problems, they really don’t in the true sense - they may have clenching/grinding issues and sore jaw muscles. Having a true TMJ problem is when your jaw goes out of place - you’ll know it when it happens, for you’ll hear a “craaack” and later have major pains including neck/shoulder, jaw, tooth, headache, etc.
I don’t have jaw pain very often. The right side of my jaw pops everytime I open my mouth wide. I wake up with very tense facial muscles. I don’t know if this is from grinding and clenching or just from sleeping all night. I wasn’t sure before if I truly have TMJ since I don’t have the pain typically associated with it, but my dentist says I do have a form of it since my jaw pops out of place each time I open wide. It was my idea to explore the nightguard option. My dentist says the evidence of grinding isn’t so bad that he would strongly advise that I get one for that purpose. He did say they sometimes help prevent headache by helping to relax the muscles. He’s not really pushing it, but he is supporting the idea if I want to give it a try. I’m waiting to find out if my insurance will cover any of the cost. It will be $350 out of my pocket if they don’t. He said the store bought guards are useless and are more like a chew toy!
Well good luck, Marci! My guess is that if you are getting one for $350, it is more of a guard to keep you from grinding. Mine is not for that - it is specifically to move my jaw into a different position. It cost A LOT with the treatment (couple thousand) and my insurance does NOT cover it.
Well good luck, Marci! My guess is that if you are getting one for $350, it is more of a guard to keep you from grinding. Mine is not for that - it is specifically to move my jaw into a different position. It cost A LOT with the treatment (couple thousand) and my insurance does NOT cover it.
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Wow! I hope it helps you with your TMJ! Yes, what I am looking into is a guard to stop the grinding and hopefully reduce the tension I feel in the morning. It is just one more potential option to try to control one potential migraine trigger. I know some have tried a simple nightguard and others have tried the more specialized splint. I’m just wondering if anyone has seen any benefit from either…
I recently saw my dentist who seems to be well informed about TMJ etc. He’s well read and seems to know his stuff. He went on and on about it and he had concluded that he did not believe that it was a cause for migraine! Said there wasn’t good evidence (there’s that word again). I decided to take his advice, keep wearing the splint at night to stop me from grinding and leave it at that. I really don’t know one way or the other what the story is on TMJ and migraine. I haven’t looked into it very deeply. But it does seem to me that if you were a migraineur and clenched all night that it can’t be helping the situation.
