Teeth grinding / bruxism

[SlamDancin]

Interesting. I’m pretty sure dopamine is involved as stimulants give me this side effect

 

[SpacePenguin]

I thought taurine is meant to help with bruxism. I recently ran out and have definitely been noticing ridiculous grinding from myself - I have plastic retainers that encourage chewing a bit.

I'm about to get some more taurine so I'll see if it helps and report back if I remember and am well enough!

Taurine seems to help me slightly getting to sleep. I had been taking 1,000 mg a night about 30m before turning in for about 5 years and was not sure if it was actually helping at all. So I stopped it recently and did find that sleep latency went up. When I went back on the taurine, sleep latency seeming to go down. Not very strong evidence, but taurine is so cheap I am happy to continue taking it indefinitely. If you eat meat regularly, you might get enough taurine from that. I don't eat a lot of meat (and no mammals).
My understanding is that taurine helps transport magnesium in and out of cells. So it makes sense that it would work synergistically with magnesium supps to alleviate muscle clenching. I could not say whether or not taking taurine helps with the teeth clenching, but currently my teeth clenching is manageable and less than it has been.

 

[perchance dreamer]

Something I just learned recently from my dentist and my ENT is that if you have a small airway, you are more likely to grind your teeth. The thought is that you do it unconsciously to keep your jaw engaged in an effort to open the airway.

 

[SpacePenguin]

Something I just learned recently from my dentist and my ENT is that if you have a small airway, you are more likely to grind your teeth. The thought is that you do it unconsciously to keep your jaw engaged in an effort to open the airway.

Huh - that's interesting, perchance! By "airway," do you mean the whole aparatus from trachea up to nostrils and mouth? I wonder if things like breath exercises, decongestants, antihistamines (for those with allergic rhinitis) - anything that helps breathing really - could help with the grinding too.

 

[perchance dreamer]

@SpacePenguin, I asked my ENT about your airway question, and she said yes, the airway is the whole apparatus although I've always thought of it just as the opening in the back of the mouth. I also asked her that if you do have a small opening, would the rest of the apparatus be small, and she said yes.

I have found things you mentioned like breath exercises and nasal treatments for allergic rhinitis very helpful for sleep and anxiety, but not for bruxism. What's helped me the most for grinding is getting my bite adjusted by the dentist and doing a couple of biofeedback sessions for TMJ, where I learned how much tension I carried in my jaw and how to relax it. There is an association between bruxism and TMJ.

 

[xena]

Bump- this is still an issue. I think it is probably trauma/ANS related.

 

[SpacePenguin]

Bump- this is still an issue. I think it is probably trauma/ANS related.

Do you mean "trauma/ANS related" generally or specifically in your case? I was clenching/grinding in my sleep for about 10 years before I developed CFS. So I reckon in my case it's not related to trauma. The connection to the autonomic nervous system seems like a distinct issue from trauma (though they would be connected in some cases).

 

[xena]

In my case- can't comment on other!

 

[SpacePenguin]

Sorry to hear that, xena! I hope it helps you get some improvement!