DIY Dentistry

I have a headache today.  It's from grinding my teeth.  I'm never aware I'm doing it until I get TMJ pain, which thankfully is almost never. At the moment,  I can barely open my jaw without pain.

Many years ago my dentist informed me that I needed a bite guard to prevent damage to my teeth, as well as the joint in my jaw.  Remembering how well I did as a teenager wearing my retainer after my braces came off, I was hesitant  I think that retainer saw the inside of my mouth a dozen times total.....and I'm probably stretching my recall.  Reluctantly I agreed to the bite guard.

After impressions of my teeth and bite were taken, the guard was ordered and my wallet emptied. My dental insurance covered just enough to say they contributed.  In other words, very little.

I am a repeat offender.  I wore that bite guard as much as I wore my retainer.  I couldn't stand that thing in my mouth while trying to sleep.  The drooling alone was enough to make me not want to sleep with myself!

Fast forward.  Pain again. Threw the costly bite guard out years ago.  So....since it's the age of Do It Yourself, I went to the corner drugstore and bought a bite guard, actually a two for one sale!  Who could resist?!  You boil water in a cup, wait ten seconds after taking it out of the micro, then drop the guard in the hot water for 30 second.  While it is warm and malleable you place it in your mouth, take your thumbs and mold it around your teeth, all the while sucking the air out from between the roof of your mouth and guard with your tongue.  This should have been recorded for Funniest Home Videos, I'm not joking!

I put my newly made bite guard in.  Very confident am I that I have solved my problem.  It doesn't bother me at all during the night, I never woke up. I am so smart!

When I woke up it was on the pillow next to me. My jaw still hurts.