Will a night time mouth guard help with daytime jaw pain?

Doctor's Answer

Pain around the jaw area can be caused by a few things. I’ll discuss the most common causes:

  1. Teeth grinding. As Dr Shiming mentioned above, if you’re grinding your teeth during the night, it can cause jaw pain and headaches. Grinding your teeth for prolonged periods of time can also cause flattening of the teeth leading to sensitivity and possible tooth fractures. A mouth guard will help protect your teeth and in some cases can alleviate grinding.
  2. TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder). This can be pain of muscular origin or pain of the jaw joint/ligament itself. The muscles which control jaw movement have trigger points and when stimulated can cause pain. Muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory medications can be prescribed. Gentle muscle massage and Botox can help relieve symptoms too. A mouthguard can help too.
  3. It’s also important to rule out a dental cause of your pain. Your pain could also be due to dental decay or gum disease/pain.

The best thing to do is to consult with a dentist. Your discomfort may well be a combination of the above mentioned.

Hope this helps!

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