Re: Terri/Bruxism- Amalgam/Mercury Fillings

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In a message dated 7/13/2006 8:38:39 PM Eastern Standard Time, peaketeresa@... writes:

I also notice I clench my jaw alot. and bite down is this stress or something more sinister? Anybody else have this?

Terri

Terri,

Bruxism (teeth grinding). It's a stress or anxiety related habit. I do this as well, and do it both awake and asleep (mindlessly). Sometimes I wake myself up clenching down so hard. Because my teeth are drying out and cracking up so bad -I'm breaking them all one by one.

Have a night guard made, and wear it when you sleep ---if you can stand it. I can't breathe with one in for very long.

If you have one of these dentists who wants to charge you $500 for a $5 piece of plastic --- you can buy one over the counter at most drugstores. You can even buy ones that you boil in water a few seconds, then stick in your mouth and bite down to mold it to your teeth. My teeth move easily, so I use one on the bottom teeth instead of the top. These will either be in the dental or medical device section, or as a last resort you may buy one of the types of mouthgards used for sports ---but make sure it's SOFT. I wouldn't go that route unless I had to, because they are usually harder and more uncomfortable. You don't want to move your teeth, and I have found them to be worse about that than softer ones. (Long story, but I've been through a lot of different ones.)

I was actually going to ask you if anxiety disorder runs in your family. The things you're saying about your children's ear/nose/throat problems sound much like my own growing up. My parents, and I, were told that anxiety disorder can cause stress induced allergies (and/or chronic sinusitis). I also got a few cysts around my ears, either on the lobe or just under or behind the ears. It was always from infection, and a doc would give an antibiotic for it. My tonsils came out about age 5, and I had a "turbinectomy" (trimming the nasal airways so that one can breathe better) at age 15. I grew out of it for several years, until getting implanted at age 22.

Brigite