Teeth grinding and NHS charges

misskool

I've been informed that I grind my teeth at night and it's getting worse. I can tell it's quite bad because my jaw (at the bottom near my neck) hurts.

I have a dental appointment tomorrow (was meant to be a routine checkup) and was wondering what the dentist (standard nhs dentist) would do? I'm guessing I get a bite guard type thing etc. how long will it take etc etc.

Is it worth going private for this for speed?

Thanks, I don't often have anything wrong so this is panicking me a bit

jenniewb

I never knew a dentist could advise on teeth grinding- I thought it was a nerological problem that doctors dealt with? I only say that as I have a sort of insomnia and was referred to a neurologist and looked it up online and found that they can help with teeth grinding.

You may also be able to get some sort of CBT help (cognative behavioral therapy) if the doctor thinks it could help, eg if your grinding your teeth through anxiety.

Maybe it is also worth asking your dentist too- what have you got to lose, but I'd also see your doctor, it could be he/she could refer you for help too.

sarahlouise210

I had a mouthguard made for tooth grinding ... I found it very hard and uncomfortable and it made me gag. It was also very frustrating as anyone that grinds their teeth just "has" to do it and the guard made it impossible. I persevered for about 2 weeks before giving up! They are not available on NHS - my dentist is an NHS dentist and treated me, but I had to pay a private charge.

Fork86

Your dentist can help you in many ways.

Apart from muscular jaw pain, have you been experiencing any other symptoms or noticed anything else? Have you woken up with a headache? Do you feel your teeth are 'shortening', cracking, or feeling tender? Have you been feeling more sressed than usual lately?

Your treatment will probably depend on the severity of your bruxism (tooth grinding). If you have signs of tooth wear as a result, he may take some impressions of your mouth to monitor for further toothwear (and also the bite guard construction).

You may be given a soft bite guard to begin with just to improve your tolerance of wearing something in your mouth at night, but these are pretty much useless as they tend to reinforce the grinding habit (people like chewing on soft things!).

Once you are used to it, your dentist may give you a hard, smooth bite guard.

It's worth asking your dentist about an NTI device, these work by preventing your upper and lower back teeth from engaging each other and allow your jaw mucles to relax. They're great, and not as much as a mouth full as a bite guard.

If you are feeling more stressed than usual and your habit has only recently started, try managing the stress factors in your life.

HTH.

Toothsmith

jenniewb wrote: »

I never knew a dentist could advise on teeth grinding- I thought it was a nerological problem that doctors dealt with? I only say that as I have a sort of insomnia and was referred to a neurologist and looked it up online and found that they can help with teeth grinding.

You may also be able to get some sort of CBT help (cognative behavioral therapy) if the doctor thinks it could help, eg if your grinding your teeth through anxiety.

Maybe it is also worth asking your dentist too- what have you got to lose, but I'd also see your doctor, it could be he/she could refer you for help too.

If you have anything wrong in or around the mouth with lumps, bumps, pains, 'funny feelings' etc - go to a dentist.

We do loads more anatomy, physiology, medicine and surgey training around this area than Drs ever do. (At M/cr, my medical student colleagues had a couple of hour long lectures on 'mouth problems' in their whole training).

A good Dr will tell you to visit a dentist with a mouth problem. Bad ones blindly prescribe amoxicillin, or Corsodyl!

misskool

Fork86 wrote: »

Your dentist can help you in many ways.

Apart from muscular jaw pain, have you been experiencing any other symptoms or noticed anything else? Have you woken up with a headache? Do you feel your teeth are 'shortening', cracking, or feeling tender? Have you been feeling more sressed than usual lately?

Your treatment will probably depend on the severity of your bruxism (tooth grinding). If you have signs of tooth wear as a result, he may take some impressions of your mouth to monitor for further toothwear (and also the bite guard construction).

You may be given a soft bite guard to begin with just to improve your tolerance of wearing something in your mouth at night, but these are pretty much useless as they tend to reinforce the grinding habit (people like chewing on soft things!).

Once you are used to it, your dentist may give you a hard, smooth bite guard.

It's worth asking your dentist about an NTI device, these work by preventing your upper and lower back teeth from engaging each other and allow your jaw mucles to relax. They're great, and not as much as a mouth full as a bite guard.

If you are feeling more stressed than usual and your habit has only recently started, try managing the stress factors in your life.

HTH.

wow, thanks!!

funny stuff....i'm getting more mouth ulcers and biting into the sides of my cheek more and that's about it. It wasn't anything too big to worry about. Not much more stress or anything. will investigate NTI device.

Toothsmith wrote: »

If you have anything wrong in or around the mouth with lumps, bumps, pains, 'funny feelings' etc - go to a dentist.

We do loads more anatomy, physiology, medicine and surgey training around this area than Drs ever do. (At M/cr, my medical student colleagues had a couple of hour long lectures on 'mouth problems' in their whole training).

A good Dr will tell you to visit a dentist with a mouth problem. Bad ones blindly prescribe amoxicillin, or Corsodyl!

:T

Barneysmom

I got a guard a few years ago before all the standard charges came in, it was £58. My dentist tells me that now it would cost £200.
He took a mould of my teeth and made it up from that, and with a bit of filing it as a good fit.
Thre are plenty on the market though, so I'd shop around and buy your own?

http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&q=mouth+guard+grinding+teeth&cr=countryUK%7CcountryGB&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=cd5OS6y8CI7u0wSMsoyuCg&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCgQrQQwAw

brook2jack

"He took a mould of my teeth and made it up from that, and with a bit of filing it as a good fit.
Thre are plenty on the market though, so I'd shop around and buy your own? " quote

Definately do that if you want to make things worse. There may be many things making your grinding worse other than stress e.g. the bite of the teeth may need adjusting etc and only a dentist will be able to diagnose your problem.

There are also many types of appliance used for grinding and the use of the wrong type, or ill adjusted appliance that opens the bite up too far or alters it may make things much, much worse.

The types of gumshield avilable from the web etc are mostly for use as sports protectors and are nice and soft so someone who grinds well will grind through the soft parts in a few days.
At best they are a waste of money for this problem at worst they may give you different and worse problems.

The NHS fee for a gumshield is band three (circa £200) but many dentists do them privately because this is one of the instances where if your problem is not complicated and needing other work it will be cheaper private than nhs.

misskool

right, the dentist made a mould of the top teeth and it cost £45.60 (band 2??)

she didn't say what it was or anything....

does that sound right?

Toothsmith

Yes, it does.

welshdent

sarahlouise210 wrote: »

I had a mouthguard made for tooth grinding ... I found it very hard and uncomfortable and it made me gag. It was also very frustrating as anyone that grinds their teeth just "has" to do it and the guard made it impossible. I persevered for about 2 weeks before giving up! They are not available on NHS - my dentist is an NHS dentist and treated me, but I had to pay a private charge.

They are available on the NHS ... just they are 3 - 5 times the cost so unless you are exempt the dentist will charge a private fee for a guard as opposed to charging the best part of £200