Sit somewhere comfortable, with no distractions. Inhale for 3 seconds, using your diaphragm. Exhale for 2 or 3 seconds. Inhale again for 3 seconds, and exhale again for 2-3 seconds. Repeat this 10 times. Close your eyes after the 10th repetition. Concentrate on your breathing. Try to create a steady rhythm to your breathing. Sit for five to ten minutes, until you feel calm and relaxed.
Lie down on your bed or on the floor. Rest your hands besides your body and close your eyes. Breathe a few times, inhaling and exhaling slowly. With your eyes closed, focus on your body. Start with your arms. Move your concentration down your arms. Then, focus on your elbows. Move down to your palms. Feel how heavy and flat they are. Move your focus to your legs. Think of how long and heavy your legs are. Move down your legs, to your toes. Feel the pressure your heels make on the floor. Move slowly up through your shins and focus on your thighs. Then, move over to your pelvis and up to your stomach. Continue to breath. Move up your stomach to your face. Focus on your chin, your mouth, your cheeks, your ears, and your forehead. Once you complete this exercise, you may fall into a deep sleep.
It’s also a good idea to avoid drinking alcohol and smoking in the evening. These can work as stimuli and lead to poor sleep as well as teeth grinding.
Talking with your sleep partner before bed will also help to relax you and reduce stress. You will likely get a good night’s sleep if you take the time to communicate with your partner before bed.
A trained therapist will encourage you to talk about how you think about yourself, the world, and other people. The therapist will also get you to talk about how your actions affect your thoughts and feelings.
There are hypnosis recordings you can buy online to help cure bruxism.
Your doctor can give you more information on how biofeedback can be applied to your mouth.
To massage your jaw muscles, place your hands on the notches just below your cheekbones. Your fingers should be about one inch in front of your ears. Press this notch firmly and rub it. This is a sturdy spot on your face, so don’t be afraid to apply firm pressure inward and upward.
Begin by saying the sentence: “I am so relaxed I can hardly talk”. Then, say it again but this time slur each word. Try this again by mouthing the words: “I can talk”, slurring each word as you mouth the sentence.
Hold your mouth wide enough to fit two fingers between your teeth. Try to hold your mouth wide in this position for about an hour. If you catch yourself with your teeth together or your mouth closed, slowly stretch your mouth open again.
Mouth guards are usually made out of bendy rubber or plastic. Your dentist can make a mouthguard that fits your mouth. But the downside is it will be expensive. Alternatively, you can go to your local drug store and pick up a cheaper mouthguard. Keep in mind a generic mouth guard it likely won’t fit your mouth as well as a custom guard. Your bedmate will also thank you if you get a mouth guard, as it will reduce grinding noises you make at night while sleeping.
Mouth splints are no more effective than mouth guards. But they tend to last longer, several years at least, than mouth guards. A mouth splint will help to reduce grinding noises and will protect your teeth from premature wear due to grinding. But they are more expensive than mouth guards.
Curing bruxism will likely require a combination of methods, such as stress therapy, medication, and the use of a mouth guard or a mouth splint.
This is not an effective long term cure for bruxism and will likely only help you sleep better, not stop grinding your teeth.
Some people can develop bruxism as a side effect of anti-anxiety medication. If this happens, talk to your doctor about changing your medication. Never go off your medication without talking to your doctor. [22] X Trustworthy Source Cleveland Clinic Educational website from one of the world’s leading hospitals Go to source
Teeth grinding can lead to a cracked tooth. If left untreated, the nerve in your tooth could die and a dental abscess could develop. This could then lead to root canal treatment, a serious and expensive procedure that could have been prevented if the cracked tooth was treated earlier. Dental problems like a cracked tooth or missing teeth, can usually be treated with reconstructive dental surgery. In fact, these treatments can sometimes reshape the chewing surface of your teeth and stop teeth grinding.
Chewing gum will allow your jaw muscles to get used to clenching, and could lead to teeth grinding, or worsen your bruxism.
