Last night I was having such a hard time settling down to go to sleep I was so keyed up it wasn't even funny. Well, just as I was drifting off to sleep I started grinding my teeth, well, all of a sudden I chomped down so hard with my top teeth and managed to chip off the end of one of my teeth, just a smidge but I can feel it with my tongue. But let me tell you when I did this I was definately startled!! I bit down hard!! I was so afraid that I ruined my new veneers but that wasn't the case, I still can't believe that I did it!! I would've definately taken someone's finger off as hard as I bit down. I guess I'm going to have to get a night guard to wear, I know I grind my teeth but never like that! Does anyone on here wear a night guard for teeth?

By Cocoabutter on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - 08:18 pm:

Yes, but it is a bite splint made by my dentist. It is made with heavy duty acrylic and I get it adjusted every time I go in for cleaning.

I needed it because I was having headaches, and I didn't realize that I was grinding my teeth. I just remembered my orthodontist saying something about my jaws being misaligned when I was a teen, and by 20 when I was having the headaches I thought, maybe I better go see a dentist about this!

By Jjb on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 - 08:39 pm:

They have a new thing out which is really tiny and you put it on just your front teeth- it changes your bite in some way that prevents you from grinding. I can't recall the name of it. My dentist suggested I consider it, but they're not really sure that I grind my teeth. It's expensive, but is supposed to work very well. You might want to ask your dentist about it. You must have really bit hard to break your tooth!

By Karen~admin on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 - 09:41 am:

I've done that more than once. I grind my teeth at night, and find myself clenching down on them during the day. I know it's a stress/anxiety thing. I'd love to have veneers, but I don't have the funds for that now.

I am having trouble with tooth sensitivity a lot right now. I actually thought I had cavities, but I went to the dentist on Friday, had a cleaning, full exam and Xrays, and the story is, I have small cracks in some teeth from the grinding. I also have TMJ and my jaw sort of pops out of place, and that causes me to bite down and chip teeth.

They recommended the bite splint to sleep in, but it's $200, and I think I'll just get a sports bite guard @ the sports store. Not as good, but pretty much does the same thing. In my case, even if I *did* spend the $200 and get the bite splint, it would just protect from chipping, and not the other damage that is occurring from the pressure of grinding.

By Cocoabutter on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 - 01:41 pm:

The bottom surface of the bite splint is totally flat, so I don't think you will encounter any further damage to your teeth. Your bottom teeth will basically just slide around on the bottom surface of the bite splint, and will actually help with the TMJ as well. It helped for me. It may be a good investment.

Have you made appointments to get your cracked teeth fixed? You probably should do that, too. If you don't, bacteria will get down into the cracks and cause decay.

By Karen~admin on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 - 02:04 pm:

The damage to my teeth that the splint won't prevent are the cracks caused from the pressure from biting. The cracks are *interior* cracks, according to the dentist, and visible on Xrays.

By Mom2three1968 on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 - 03:40 pm:

I called today about a night guard and it would be 263.00, I just got my veneers in December, and have to pay that bill, I was tired of having my teeth stained from tetracycline and then I chipped off a part of my front tooth biting into a hard food and it made my appearance even worse so I went ahead and had it done. As long as I pay the bill for that in full in one year it is a new interest bill. I just can't see paying that so I think that i will see if I can get a sports guard like your thinking of Karen or go to the pharmacy and see if they have something I can buy, I think that they do but I am not sure!! I did wake myself up again doing it this morning but not with as much force as the first time. I just don't want to ruin these veneers.