A few weeks ago I was eating lunch and suddenly I felt this pain around my right bottom molar. I went to see my dentist and she referred me to my endontist who had done my root canal 11 years ago just prior to my tinnitus showing up.
My dentist prescribed some amoxicillin which did not help with the pain from the possible infection enough so she upped the game with another antibiotic and steroids. They worked to alleviate the infection and inflammation. I could only imagine how bad my root canal was doing.
I thought for sure I would need to get my root canal redone. I was not happy about that. The root canal procedure itself does not bother me as it was not a big deal for me in regards to discomfort, but the cost is high and last time maxed my dental insurance out. Anyways, I went to see my endontist and he did some sensitivity tests and he said ‘I see a lot of wear on your teeth. Do you wear a mouth guard?’
I said ‘I have one but I don’t wear it consistently and I pull it out at night.’ I really have not worn it much so ‘consistently’ is a stretch. He emphasized that I needed to wear it as my grinding on my teeth is damaging my teeth. He said wear it for a week and see if things get better. Also, the premolar had more sensitivity with some tests which is not the one with the root canal.
I was definitely not expecting that prognosis. So, I am wearing it every night. After the first night, I noticed an improvement. Now after a week, I feel even better. I still feel some irritation. Wow. If this is the solution, I am very mindful now how damaging clenching and grinding is to teeth and the underlying nerves.
I originally got my mouth guard because I wanted to test if it would help my tinnitus. I wore it regularly at first, but started to skip nights and then I eventually stopped wearing it. I did often pull out both parts as I have a custom made two piece night guard. It is very nice and relatively comfortable compared to this over the counter boil in water type which always make me gagh#%! However, I still would pull it out at night. Bottom line, my scientific experiment was a flop.
Custom night guard. Two pieces for top and bottom.
Ok. Back to today. I am committed to wearing my mouth guard every night. Really because I want to heal my teeth and I do not want to crack a tooth which would be painful and expensive to fix or rather remove and replace with some prosthetic tooth. My root canal with the crown is bad enough. At least my tooth is what is holding it in place not a crew or wire. There is nothing like OEM parts for your body…aftermarket is not the same…so take care of what you have.
So, now that I have experienced how traumatic clenching and grinding can be, I am again wondering if wearing my guard will help alleviate my tinnitus. I have read about TMJ causing or exacerbating tinnitus in some people.
I will find out as I will be wearing my mouth night guard consistently for real. I will update on the results. I will cure myself.