I have recently (over the last year) been grinding my teeth in my sleep and it has resulted in my jaw popping a lot. My dentist tells me I need to wear a mouth guard, which I have been doing. In the morning, when I take the mouth guard out, my jaw alignment is way off. My bite doesn't allow my molars to meet for the first several minutes (up to 30 min.) after I wake up. My dentist's solution is to meet with him for a series of appointments (very brief...10-15 min) and he is "filing" my teeth in certain areas to correct the bite so that the teeth meet properly when the jaw is realigned (after wearing the mouth guard). He sees me 1st thing in the morning, so he sees my jaw in this post-mouthguard position when my molars don't come together. Sounds complicated I know.....so I'm not sure if I've described this properly. Bottom line....this seems to me like an odd thing to do to make this correction. Does this make sense as a proper way to treat this?? Thank you!

jillianleab

Is this a mouth guard you bought in a store, or one that was made for you in your dentist's office? How is your bite and alignment otherwise? Has you dentist discussed the possibility or orthodontic treatment to correct this problem, if you have a malocclusion?

What your dentist is suggesting is not something I've ever heard of, but I'm not a dental professional, so maybe it is common practice. There are several people in the dental field here who hopefully can give you more info.

joans3478

Thanks Jillian.....my mouth guard was bought in a store, not specially made by my dentist. And otherwise, my bite is fine. Hopefully I'll hear from a dental professional on this also? Thanks again...

flossie

You should have a occlusal night guard made. A night guard is made specifically for your teeth and joints therefore preventing you from doing more damage. The night guard is made of hard acrylic.

Night Guard

The adjusting your dentist is doing to your teeth is quite common in the dental industry. It's called occlusal equilibration and will make it so your teeth are balanced when you bite together.

It worries me that your dentist is doing it when you aren't wearing a CUSTOM night guard.

jillianleab

Hopefully one of them will pop in and give you some more concrete advice. No promises, though!

Based on my dental knowledge, the mouth guards made by dentists are better than the ones in the stores, so that could be compounding your problems. If your mouth guard doesn't fit properly it can shift your teeth, which of course, is a problem.

If you are unsure of the treatment plan your dentist has laid out for you, however, you can always consult with another dentist to see what their opinion is. Call around, you might find someone who will consult with you for free, or for a small fee. If your jaw is popping, it could indicate TMJ if there is pain as well. There are several ways to treat TMJ, one of them being orthodontic treatment. If you are in the US, most orthos will consult with you for no charge. My concern with what you say is that your jaw is fine before bed, and misaligned when you wake up, and our dentist wants to "lock" you in to that misalignment.

GABRIEL5555

do u have a overbite or underbite or a perfect jaw?and when did u notice u started do grind ur teeth,bdw when u grind your teeth ur bite will feel different as in your teeth will not fit together