Teeth grinding and clenching to stim

Post Reply New Topic

Does anyone else grind or clench their teeth to stim?

I've done both of these things my whole life and it's given me some issues with my teeth. When I had braces I was told to stop doing it, but it's like I physically can't since I do it subconsciously, especially when I'm stressed or bored, so now a few of my teeth are misaligned again from the pressure on them. It's also worn down the enamel on the tops of my teeth so some of them are really sensitive, and as I've gotten older it's made my jaw near those teeth hurt too, so now I worry that I'm damaging the roots or the bone around my teeth.

Yes, big time, especially when I'm asleep.

I get custom-made dental guards made by my dentist. They cost a fortune but they're covered on my insurance. There's a soft kind and a rock hard kind that feels like glass. When I get the soft ones I bite holes through them in a matter of weeks and they're destroyed, even though they're supposed to last a few years. I love the hard ones like glass. I still get damage and marks on the hard ones but they do last much longer with proper care (rinsing before and after use).

I'm so used to wearing mine that I can't sleep without it because now it's a stim to feel it in my mouth.

I don't wear it in the day but I do have a lot of weird grinding stims in the day and I just do my best to stop.

I went to an Oral-Maxillofacial (sp?) surgeon because my TMJ is so bad it gives me Tinnitus. He wanted to do Botox injections in my TMJ joint but I never followed up because that sounded creepy af.

I noticed I did it much more when I was working long, stressful hours.