I've had three nightguards, and hated each one with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. Does that sum it up? ;)

I let a TMJ specialist convince me to try again, that they're "better" now, but it's the same old piece of crappy (yet extremely expensive) plastic. In my case, my front teeth are crooked so I'm unable to wear the newer type that just fits on the front teeth and doesn't fill my mouth with a load of plastic. My mouth is on the small side, so it makes it even more uncomfortable -- I kept feeling like I was gagging at night because it crowded my tongue too much, even after several adjustments.

However, I would recommend trying one of the SleepRight Select nightguards. You don't need a prescription or a fitting from a dentist, and it's much softer than the Rx version, so it's not as harsh to bite on. Also one heck of a lot cheaper. They're under $50 at DrugStore.com (which is part of Amazon). I wish I'd known about them before I had the last guard made, especially since my insurance refused to pay for it and I'm left with over $1,000 worth of useless plastic.

I've been dealing with TMJ for over 15 years now. I do have some bone growth because of it, but it's ages away from the point of requiring surgery. That's usually the absolute last resort for a TMJ patient.

You might also want to check with your family doctor about a prescription for something to help you sleep. I'm currently on Neurontin (and just an FYI, the generic version was like taking a placebo for me) and Clonazepam.

It's common to assume TMJ is a dysfunction of the jaw, but it's often a sign of an underlying sleep disorder. In my case, I was waking up several times during the night, either having to go to the bathroom or feeling like I was starving to death. Turns out I wasn't going into deep sleep, so my brain still thought I was "awake" and wasn't slowing down my digestive or urinary systems like it would during normal sleep.

Hope this helps, but if you have any more questions, just let me know. I can probably tell you more than you ever wanted to know about TMJ, guards, etc. ;)

Oh boy. :(

$1,000?!? Did they make you an upper and a lower one? I paid for mine at the same time I paid for the usual cleaning and yearly x-rays and I think it was about $590 or so. I'm just getting an upper guard, though.

I'm lucky that I don't have TMJ. My reading indicated that the clenching I do could result in a TMJ disorder, though, so now I'm a bit concerned about that. I would like to do what I can to avoid it. I'm really ignorant on this, though, as it's not anything I've paid any attention to heretofore. I have a steep learning curve ahead of me, I can see.

Did they do a lot of adjusting and grinding on your guards? Did the guards just fail to alleviate your symptoms or did they make them worse? My mouth is small - they had use a kid's tray to make my mold - so that's not good. Feeling as if I'm choking doesn't sound like a good way to sleep. My teeth are naturally straight, though, so maybe I won't have as many problems?

I'm a little concerned that this is a night guard but I know that I clench my teeth all day, too. It's my "default" jaw position. Hell, I clench my teeth when I'm happy and have done so from a very young age. Maybe a night time thing will be enough to break my behavior but I'm a little skeptical of that.

Mine is just a lower one (the last two were just upper), but the $1000 cost included the visit for the molds and two follow-up visits for adjustments. Office visits aren't cheap.

The last dentist who tried to fit me for a guard literally threw out his first attempt. My jaw "floats" a bit and I never bite down the same way twice, which makes it even harder to fit.

I have a small mouth, though they usually use adult molds and x-ray film, it pushes me to the limit.

The TMJ specialist had to do a lot of adjusting to the bit that goes behind my teeth in the front, because it's very cramped and because of how my top teeth are aligned, I often felt like I was biting the tip of my tongue. It's better now, but I'm still not happy with it. That's one reason I like the cheap non-prescription version -- there's nothing but a plastic band that goes along the gumline, so nothing interferes with my tongue.

You can wear a guard more than just at night, but you're not supposed to wear it 24/7, so check with your dentist. You might try wearing it as soon as you get home to get the maximum benefit. The idea behind the guard is not necessarily to prevent grinding or clenching directly, but to retrain your jaw to go into a "relaxed" position.

Wow -- I love my dentist even more now. The charges I paid cover the subsequent fittings, too. :| I always knew I loved my dentist, I guess I just didn't know how much.

Sounds as if you need something made out of rubber? But that might not be rigid enough? That really sucks. :( Makes sense to use the cheaper one, though, if they can't fit you properly. I'm not sure I really need an expensive appliance rather than a cheaper OTC type but I guess I'm going to find out. :|

Well, if it can retrain me, I'll be impressed. It has been a lifelong habit for me so it's ingrained.

There's a huge difference between a dentist and a TMJ specialist, and specialists always cost more. But unfortunately, most general dentists don't know much about the treatment of TMJ beyond making a guard.

I really think meds play an important role in treatment and most dentists just treat in their area, if you'll pardon the pun, and not the whole syndrome. I'm not saying I'm pain free, but without my meds I wouldn't be able to function 90% of the time.

I posted about my full treatment in my LJ, so if you want the gory details, it's under the "health" tag starting back around last October. The primary treatment included getting four syringes worth of anesthetic injected into my scalp to "reboot" the occipital nerves and cut back on the pain. That might be incentive to use your block instead of ending up with full-blown TMJ like me. ;)