Will a night time mouth guard help with daytime jaw pain?

Doctor's Answers 2

Pain around the jaw area can be caused by a few things. I’ll discuss the most common causes:

  1. Teeth grinding. As Dr Shiming mentioned above, if you’re grinding your teeth during the night, it can cause jaw pain and headaches. Grinding your teeth for prolonged periods of time can also cause flattening of the teeth leading to sensitivity and possible tooth fractures. A mouth guard will help protect your teeth and in some cases can alleviate grinding.
  2. TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder). This can be pain of muscular origin or pain of the jaw joint/ligament itself. The muscles which control jaw movement have trigger points and when stimulated can cause pain. Muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory medications can be prescribed. Gentle muscle massage and Botox can help relieve symptoms too. A mouthguard can help too.
  3. It’s also important to rule out a dental cause of your pain. Your pain could also be due to dental decay or gum disease/pain.

The best thing to do is to consult with a dentist. Your discomfort may well be a combination of the above mentioned.

Hope this helps!

Thank you for your question.

It sounds like you may be grinding your teeth at night. The short answer to your question is yes, it will very likely help with the pain. Know also that you are not alone, more and more people seem to be coming in to our clinic with similar issues!

Have you worn any form of mouth guard before? If not, it might be a good idea to consult your regular dentist on possibly having one made. Further consult with your dentist on the possible causes of your teeth grinding will also be necessary.

Hope this answers your question!

Similar Questions

Is it possible to have tooth nerve damage without any signs of tooth decay?

It is definitely possible to have pulp (the nerve of the tooth) damage in the absence of decay. Other causes of pulp damage/inflammation include:1) Cracks in the tooth or rootHairline cracks may be present in the crown or the root of a tooth due to trauma (from an accident, teeth grinding or clenching, or biting into something hard) or weakening of an undermined cusp usually associated with a large cavity or a large filling. Most cracks may be painless when confined to the superficial part of the tooth.

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Answered By

Dr Jaclyn Toh

Dentist

How can I get rid of TMJ pain that persists despite a mouth guard?

Mouthguards do not cure bruxism but are used to try and limit the irreversible damage done to your teeth from the grinding. TMJ pain usually occurs on moving the jaw (opening or closing) and not necessarily on chewing. If you have issues with your TMJs, clicking, popping or cracking sounds may also occur during jaw movement. If you are experiencing persistent pain only on chewing on the left hand side, I would suspect the possibility of a cracked tooth. This requires treatment at the level of the tooth and cannot be solved just by wearing a mouthguard.

Photo of Dr Jaclyn Toh

Answered By

Dr Jaclyn Toh

Dentist

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