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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 15 of 15. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Julie on January 12, 2000, at 21:56:22
I take Effexor (225mg XR) which I know can cause bruxism (teeth grinding). Though I hadn't noticed myself grinding, I recently found that my front teeth were loose and my jaw was making popping noises. So I went to the dentist. He said (surprise!) I grind my teeth, and need a mouth guard and all sorts of other expensive realignment stuff, to the tune of 2,000 dollars. Now, I don't make much money, and am not sure I trust this particular dentist's integrity. I'd rather figure out ways to stop grinding without spending a zillion dollars on it. So: medication-taking (or not) grinders out there: do y'all have any helpful anti-grinding tips? Thanks.
Posted by Abby on January 12, 2000, at 23:58:02
In reply to Teeth Grinding , posted by Julie on January 12, 2000, at 21:56:22
Funny, right after I read your message, I was looking at the Dr.
Weil site reading a question about epilepsy. This led to biofeedback which led to bruxism.
A mouthguard might be a good idea, but you can get a cheap one that you mold yourself.
Posted by Noa on January 13, 2000, at 0:40:31
In reply to Re: Teeth Grinding , posted by Abby on January 12, 2000, at 23:58:02
The mouth guard that you would get, custom fit, from the dentist would be expensive, but you can buy the kind used for sports for about $15 or less, I think.
Posted by jamie on January 13, 2000, at 0:52:06
In reply to Teeth Grinding , posted by Julie on January 12, 2000, at 21:56:22
> I take Effexor (225mg XR) which I know can cause bruxism (teeth grinding). Though I hadn't noticed myself grinding, I recently found that my front teeth were loose and my jaw was making popping noises. So I went to the dentist. He said (surprise!) I grind my teeth, and need a mouth guard and all sorts of other expensive realignment stuff, to the tune of 2,000 dollars. Now, I don't make much money, and am not sure I trust this particular dentist's integrity. I'd rather figure out ways to stop grinding without spending a zillion dollars on it. So: medication-taking (or not) grinders out there: do y'all have any helpful anti-grinding tips? Thanks.
Maybe you are grinding your teeth during sleep? That's happened to me on some but not all drugs. Buspar sometimes fixes it. The benzos can too. Or anything that is sedating and relaxing enough to really konk you out. I have no idea of the safety of mixing herbs with effexor, but kava kava might work. For daytime grinding the only thing I could ever do was be of aware of it and force myself not to do it. Or chew a lot of gum.
jamie
Posted by S. Suggs on January 13, 2000, at 7:44:53
In reply to Teeth Grinding , posted by Julie on January 12, 2000, at 21:56:22
Julie: Know what you mean, been there. It looks like from your email you are in Texas, probably a large city and therefore a large price on a mouth guard, $2,000?! I live in Columbia, SC, and when I lived in Greenville, SC (upstate) and not that small of a city (depending on your definition of small) I got a mouth guard for around $450. You need to look around.
At the time I was taking Prozac. Antidepressants are notorious for causing bruxism. If you have insurance, they know the importance of a good mouth guard. They know if one is not used it could result in caps etc.$$$$$$$$$$$$. You probably have headaches as well. Again, check around and see what others offer. I've had mine for 4-5 years and recently dropped it on the floor and chipped off the rear end, but it seems to still work. Point is, if you take care of these things, and if they are made properly, they will last for a long time. Best wishes and blessings!
S. Suggs
Posted by S. Suggs on January 13, 2000, at 7:54:31
In reply to Teeth Grinding , posted by Julie on January 12, 2000, at 21:56:22
Julie: I'll try to be brief here. The origional reason for my bite block was for headaches. The suggestion of a less expensive block is a good idea, particularly price wise. However, what I found out was that the soft ones still allow you to flex your muscles (creating headaches the next day) and therefore did'nt work for me. That was my reason for having no choice to go for the hard bite block. Blessings,
S. Suggs
Posted by Julie on January 13, 2000, at 8:12:58
In reply to Re: Teeth Grinding -soft guard vs. hard block, posted by S. Suggs on January 13, 2000, at 7:54:31
Thanks for the suggestions. I think I grind during sleep (though my live-in guy hasn't noticed grindy noises), but also notice I'm kinda clenching during the day. I do have dental insurance, but according to my dentist it would only pay 350$ of the cost. (Some of the 2,000 was for other things- like realigning ground-down teeth and some gum deep-cleaning thing [yuck!].)
I'm going to: check my insurance; look at the bruxism and biofeedback pages Abby found; maybe go see my boyfriend's dentist, who sounds more trustworthy.
My guess is I grind because of Effexor (and years of Zoloft before that), because I've always been a stress monkey, and because of job stress: I'm trying to teach, write a PhD dissertation, and look for an English professor job in a really tight labor market (and on an abysmal salary). In many ways being a grad student is a satisfying, kind of privileged life. In other ways it isn't.
Posted by CarolAnn on January 13, 2000, at 9:46:31
In reply to Re: Teeth Grinding (and a little whine), posted by Julie on January 13, 2000, at 8:12:58
Julie, I've worn a mouth guard for ten years or so. I've always been a teeth grinder(in my sleep), even before I was on any medication. S.Suggs is right that you probably want a hard molded one, mine is soft and sometimes I wake up and I'm chewing the heck out of it(I actually am having dreams of eating when I do this!). Anyway, you should shop around for other dentists that take your insurance and ask the cost of *just* the mouth guard. If you really do need all that other stuff, it can probably wait til you can afford it, but the mouth guard will keep things from getting worse.CarolAnn
Posted by lucy on January 13, 2000, at 10:32:19
In reply to Re: Teeth Grinding (and a little whine), posted by Julie on January 13, 2000, at 8:12:58
>First time I've been on this web site, but teeth grinding caught my eye. I have a six-year old son who grinds his teeth when he sleeps. I've asked the dentist and the peidatrician who don't say much. I just wonder about *his* stress level. Should I be concerned that a kid so young grinds his teeth?
Posted by S. Suggs on January 13, 2000, at 19:49:08
In reply to Re: Teeth Grinding (and a little whine), posted by lucy on January 13, 2000, at 10:32:19
Julie: I'm no expert on this, but from what I have noticed is that a lot of kids do in fact grind their teeth. My son - almost 3 - grinds his teeth as well. With the way kids lose teeth and grow in bone structure, it would seem pointless to spend big bucks on a bite block. Unless the benefits would outweigh the problems. Hope this helps. blessings,
S. Suggs
Posted by anna on January 13, 2000, at 21:13:41
In reply to Teeth Grinding , posted by Julie on January 12, 2000, at 21:56:22
> I take Effexor (225mg XR) which I know can cause bruxism (teeth grinding). Though I hadn't noticed myself grinding, I recently found that my front teeth were loose and my jaw was making popping noises. So I went to the dentist. He said (surprise!) I grind my teeth, and need a mouth guard and all sorts of other expensive realignment stuff, to the tune of 2,000 dollars. Now, I don't make much money, and am not sure I trust this particular dentist's integrity. I'd rather figure out ways to stop grinding without spending a zillion dollars on it. So: medication-taking (or not) grinders out there: do y'all have any helpful anti-grinding tips? Thanks.
DON'T SPEND THE MONEY !!!!!
A story....I have always been a grinder, whether on or off meds. A few years ago I was getting terrific pain in my jaw and neck, assummed it was due to the grind, and my dentist sent me to a "specialist". When I entered the office I was handed several brochures on this special dentist, and asked for a 3 figure check before I could even get into the main waiting room. It was also commented by the receptionist that my employer had great dental insurance. The great dentist pushed my head this way and that, commented on my "lousy" orthadonture, "poor" dental work, blah blah, and determined that I needed a $1,000 dental appliance for my grinding, plus some other type of work. He perscribed a muscle relaxant for the pain. Something told me to call my internist before I filled the script...my doc then had me in to see him immediately....and within a week, I'd had an MRI and been seen by an orthodpeadic surgeon. I still was a grinder, but my bad pain was due to a herniated disc in my neck--which physical therapy relieved. Oh, yeah, I switched to another regular dentist, he made up a white plasctic mouthguard for maybe $125--and I 've used it ever since.
Posted by Julie on January 14, 2000, at 8:00:38
In reply to Re: Teeth Grinding , posted by anna on January 13, 2000, at 21:13:41
Wow, Anna- scary story! And ow- herniated disks sound awful. I'm gonna pass on this dentist for sure. (He really goes for the hard sell...also, the office is very overtly religious- and it doesn't happen to be my religion.)
Posted by Colleen on January 24, 2000, at 16:04:59
In reply to Teeth Grinding , posted by Julie on January 12, 2000, at 21:56:22
I just read an article on the Internet that SSRI's can cause teeth grinding and headaches. Two doctor's at the Mayo clinc did a study with patients with these problems, giving them Buspar, which seem to relieve the symtoms. According to the article SSRI drugs supress activity of the brain chemical dopamine, which one of the functions of dopamine is control of muscular and motor movement. Buspar may help the problem of teeth grinding by enhancing the activity of dopamine.This article was on the Internet at http:\\www.reutershealth.com/eline/open/20000012101.html
Hope this might help.
Colleen
> I take Effexor (225mg XR) which I know can cause bruxism (teeth grinding). Though I hadn't noticed myself grinding, I recently found that my front teeth were loose and my jaw was making popping noises. So I went to the dentist. He said (surprise!) I grind my teeth, and need a mouth guard and all sorts of other expensive realignment stuff, to the tune of 2,000 dollars. Now, I don't make much money, and am not sure I trust this particular dentist's integrity. I'd rather figure out ways to stop grinding without spending a zillion dollars on it. So: medication-taking (or not) grinders out there: do y'all have any helpful anti-grinding tips? Thanks.
Posted by Paranoid on January 31, 2000, at 21:53:12
In reply to Re: Teeth Grinding -me too, posted by S. Suggs on January 13, 2000, at 7:44:53
> Julie: Know what you mean, been there. It looks like from your email you are in Texas, probably a large city and therefore a large price on a mouth guard, $2,000?! I live in Columbia, SC, and when I lived in Greenville, SC (upstate) and not that small of a city (depending on your definition of small) I got a mouth guard for around $450. You need to look around.
>
> At the time I was taking Prozac. Antidepressants are notorious for causing bruxism. If you have insurance, they know the importance of a good mouth guard. They know if one is not used it could result in caps etc.$$$$$$$$$$$$. You probably have headaches as well. Again, check around and see what others offer. I've had mine for 4-5 years and recently dropped it on the floor and chipped off the rear end, but it seems to still work. Point is, if you take care of these things, and if they are made properly, they will last for a long time. Best wishes and blessings!
>
> S. SuggsS. Suggs, Just curious, Julie didn`t mention where she was from, why do you think she is from Texas?
Posted by S. Suggs on February 1, 2000, at 5:45:57
In reply to Question for S. Suggs, posted by Paranoid on January 31, 2000, at 21:53:12
> > Julie: Know what you mean, been there. It looks like from your email you are in Texas, probably a large city and therefore a large price on a mouth guard, $2,000?! I live in Columbia, SC, and when I lived in Greenville, SC (upstate) and not that small of a city (depending on your definition of small) I got a mouth guard for around $450. You need to look around.
> >
> > At the time I was taking Prozac. Antidepressants are notorious for causing bruxism. If you have insurance, they know the importance of a good mouth guard. They know if one is not used it could result in caps etc.$$$$$$$$$$$$. You probably have headaches as well. Again, check around and see what others offer. I've had mine for 4-5 years and recently dropped it on the floor and chipped off the rear end, but it seems to still work. Point is, if you take care of these things, and if they are made properly, they will last for a long time. Best wishes and blessings!
> >
> > S. Suggs
>
> S. Suggs, Just curious, Julie didn`t mention where she was from, why do you think she is from Texas?It seems that I recall she mentioned somewhere (or maybe I've got her mixed up with another poster) the city Dallas. Blessings
S. Suggs
This is the end of the thread.
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