Posted by Mark H. on November 18, 2001, at 21:28:41
In reply to jaw tension, tension headaches, posted by JohnX2 on November 17, 2001, at 2:31:51
My experience has been the same as Jane's.
I know of two relatively inexpensive alternatives to custom-fitted mouth guards. One of my doctors recommends something used by athletes that you can buy at a sports shop. I haven't tried it, so I don't know how it would be to sleep with it in.
The other is the the boil-and-bite trays that come with home teeth whitening kits. They are made of a soft, translucent plastic that you heat and form to fit your teeth by closing on them and sucking all the air out of your mouth. You use a separate tray for the top teeth and bottom teeth. The whitening gel helps to hold them in place.
I had had persistent jaw pain for several weeks that I couldn't seem to alleviate, but even after one night of wearing the whitening trays, it started to improve. In less than two weeks, the jaw pain disappeared completely.
Like Jane, my pain moved around. Sometimes it felt like the worst ear infection imaginable. At other times, I could not chew anything. So spending $25 on a teeth whitening kit at the drugstore turned out to be a bargain treatment for jaw pain, even if it wasn't all that effective at whitening my teeth.
(This is off-topic, but I know I'll get questions, so here's the answer: for those interested in home teeth whitening, the stuff your dentist uses is available at
http://www.northwesttrends.com
under "Fashions" of all things; you get 4 ounces (a relatively HUGE amount) of carbamide peroxide gel instead of the few cc's that you get with the drug store kits, for only about $15 more. Their site is funky, but their service is good, and their product works.)
Good luck, and thanks for sharing your observations on alleviating jaw pain. I agree that clonazepam is probably the best medication to try for this condition.
Mark H.
poster:Mark H.
thread:84482
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011113/msgs/84618.html