I actually had the opposite experience with the silicone mouthguard—mine was a lifesaver, especially when I started grinding my teeth at night. It did feel bulky at first, but after a week or two I barely noticed it. Maybe it’s just one of those things that depends on your bite?
I totally get what you mean about the mouthguard feeling bulky at first. When my orthodontist handed me one, I was honestly freaked out—I thought there was no way I’d be able to sleep with that thing wedged in my mouth. The first few nights were rough, not gonna lie. I kept waking up thinking I was choking or drooling everywhere. But after maybe a week, I started getting used to it, and now it just feels like part of my nighttime routine.
But here’s the thing: I still have nights where my braces ache so much that even the mouthguard doesn’t seem to help. I end up lying there, super aware of every single tooth. I’ve tried the wax trick, but half the time it falls off or gets stuck somewhere weird. Warm salt water rinses seem to help a bit, especially when the pain is mostly in my gums, but it’s not a miracle fix or anything.
I do wonder if the mouthguard works better for some people than others. My friend tried one and couldn’t stand it—she said it made her jaw hurt even more. Maybe it’s just luck, or maybe it’s about how your teeth are moving? I keep telling myself all this pain means my teeth are actually shifting, but I swear, some nights it feels like they’re trying to escape my mouth entirely.
Honestly, the only thing that really helps me calm down is distracting myself—podcasts, audiobooks, that kind of thing. If I focus on the pain, it just gets worse. Still, I’d pick the mouthguard over nothing, even if it’s not perfect. At least I’m not grinding my teeth into oblivion anymore.
Mouthguards really are a weird adjustment at first—I remember mine felt like I had a hockey puck in my mouth. I actually ended up trimming the edges a tiny bit (probably not recommended, but desperation won). It’s true, though, some nights nothing helps much. I used to swear by a heating pad on my jaw for those “teeth are mutinying” nights... it didn’t fix everything, but it made things a little less miserable.
I get what you mean about the mouthguard feeling bulky, but honestly, trimming it always made mine worse—ended up with sharp edges that irritated my gums even more. For me, the heating pad never did much, maybe just psychological comfort. I found that sticking to orthodontic wax on the brackets and switching to softer foods at night helped more than anything else. Guess everyone’s pain threshold is different, though...
For me, the heating pad never did much, maybe just psychological comfort.
Yeah, I’m with you on that. I tried a heating pad too and didn’t really notice any difference—if anything, it was just something to distract me for a bit. Orthodontic wax was a lifesaver though, especially in those first few weeks when every bracket felt like it was trying to carve up my cheeks. I also found that taking ibuprofen about an hour before bed helped take the edge off, but obviously not everyone wants to go the painkiller route. Soft foods are definitely key... mashed potatoes and yogurt basically became my dinner for a while. Pain threshold really does play a massive role here.
