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.
