We went through something similar with my son after his bone graft. He kept waking up sore, and it turned out he was grinding his teeth at night without realizing it. We ended up trying a warm compress on his jaw before bed, along with some calming music—sounds cheesy, I know, but it actually helped him relax a bit. You're totally right about stress playing a sneaky role in healing...it's easy to underestimate how much tension we carry without noticing. Glad things are improving for you!
We had a similar issue after my bone graft a couple years back. It took me forever to figure out why I was waking up feeling like I'd been chewing rocks all night...turns out it was subconscious jaw clenching from stress and discomfort. I tried a bunch of stuff—warm compresses did help some, but what really made a difference for me was investing in a cheap mouthguard from the pharmacy. Nothing fancy or custom-made (budget wasn't allowing that), just one of those boil-and-bite types. Took a few nights to get used to sleeping with it, but once I did, my jaw felt way less sore in the mornings.
Also, you're spot-on about stress sneaking into the healing process. I noticed when work got hectic or bills piled up, my pain levels shot up noticeably. Eventually, I started doing some gentle stretching and breathing exercises before bed...felt silly at first, but honestly, it helped me unwind enough to sleep through most nights without waking up in pain.
Glad things are looking better for you now—hang in there, recovery can be tricky sometimes.
I had a similar experience after my bone graft last year. I kept waking up with this dull ache and stiffness in my jaw, and it took me ages to realize I was clenching my teeth at night. Tried the boil-and-bite mouthguard too, but honestly, I couldn't get comfortable with it. Weirdly enough, what helped me most was listening to podcasts before bed—something about focusing on a story distracted me enough to relax my jaw muscles. Recovery's definitely a rollercoaster...
My daughter went through something similar after her bone graft. She complained about jaw soreness every morning and we realized she was grinding her teeth in her sleep. Mouthguards were a no-go for her too—she said they felt weird and kept her awake. Did you find certain podcast types helped more? We ended up using audiobooks, mostly fantasy stories... seemed to help her drift off and relax better. It's definitely a trial-and-error thing figuring out what works.
Fantasy audiobooks are a great idea, actually. My son had similar issues after his procedure, and we found calming nature podcasts helped him relax—especially ones with gentle rain sounds or ocean waves. Definitely agree it's all about experimenting to see what clicks.
