Glad you shared this! I totally get the hesitation about spending money on dental stuff—I was in the same boat for ages. Kept thinking, "Eh, it's probably not that big of a deal," until I started waking up with that dull ache in my jaw every morning. Tried the cheap pharmacy guard too, and yeah...mine ended up on the floor most nights. 😂
I did find that cutting caffeine later in the day helped a bit, and weirdly enough, reducing screen time before bed seemed to ease some tension too. But like you said, mindfulness and lifestyle tweaks only go so far if there's an underlying issue. Eventually, I bit the bullet (pun intended lol) and got a custom night guard from my dentist. It felt like a huge splurge at the time, but honestly, it was worth every penny. It's crazy how much better I sleep now, and no more headaches or jaw soreness.
It's cool your dentist gave you those temporary tips though—I wish I'd known about the jaw stretches earlier. Might've saved me a few months of discomfort. 😅 But yeah, investing upfront definitely beats paying for dental repairs later on. Glad you're feeling better now!
