Does anyone have any expereince with night splints for grinding teeth. My 15 year old is apparently grinding his teeth so bad that the dentist is concerned he will get to the nerev by mid adulthood. They want 500 dollars for a splint and we just cant afford that right now. Has anyone used anything over the counter or know of a cheaper way?
Thanks
K.
I used to grind my teeth at night. I started taking "Natural CALM". It's magnesium citrate, which is a natural muscle relaxer. It's all natural. A lot of people are very low in magnesium. It balances your calcium intake.
I have a molded custom one like your dentist is suggesting, but recently I have seen ads in the paper for a 'generic' (for lack of a better term) one that you can buy. I would go to Walgreen's or CVS and ask the clerk if they have anything similar. If nothing else he could use that until you can scrape together the $500.
Another idea... where we used to live you could be a guinea pig at the local dentist school. It was a way to get free dental work done - you had an inexperienced dentist, but their professor was always at hand. I don't know if there are even any dental schools in this area - but it might be worth a google search to find out.
I would try to buy a football mouth guard. You can boil it and form it to fit. I grind my teeth as well. This has helped me.
I myself had this problem when I was a kid. My parents couldnt afford to pay for the splint so the dentist recommended that we just by a mouthpiece that they use for sports. Just go to the sporting goods store and you can get one relatively cheap. They mold to the individuals mouth and it should work. I never did it but I dont see why it wouldnt work. Same concept.
K., I have use one myself. I too had to pay $500 for one and did not have the money. I kept having head aches that just would not go away. I was assured that the mouth guard would last many years and it has. Well over 5 years. I don't have headaches anymore and my shoulders don't get sore and tense like they use to. Now if I forget to put it in at night my teeth and jaw hurts in the morning. So I say it's worth the $500. I KNOW IT'S alot but wow it made my life alot better. You could ask a local pharmacist at CVS or Walgreens and see what they have to say about over the counter ones. I have never tried them. I can here my 4 year old son grind his teeth at night and our room is on the other side of the house. UGH I feel bad that he got that gene from me :). GOOD LUCK!
