Yeah, totally agree about checking with a dentist—it's easy to stress over these things, especially if it's new. I had a similar tightness feeling last year, and turns out I was clenching my jaw at night without realizing it. Dentist suggested a night guard, and honestly, it helped a ton. Might be worth mentioning if you notice any jaw soreness or headaches too... teeth can be weirdly connected to stress.
Definitely agree with the night guard suggestion—I went through something similar myself. One thing I'd add is to try paying attention to your daytime habits too. I didn't realize how often I was clenching my teeth during stressful moments at work or even just zoning out watching TV. Once I started consciously relaxing my jaw throughout the day, the tightness eased up a lot. Might be worth experimenting with some mindfulness techniques or gentle jaw stretches too... small changes can make a big difference over time.
Totally relate to this. I used to wake up feeling like my jaw had been through a boxing match, even with the night guard. One thing that helped me was actually massaging the muscles around my jaw and temples before bed—nothing fancy, just gentle circular motions for a minute or two. It seemed to loosen things up and made a noticeable difference in the morning. Also, cutting back on caffeine later in the day surprisingly helped reduce some of that unconscious tension. Might not work for everyone, but worth a shot if you're still struggling. Good luck, hope you find relief soon!
Massages are nice, but honestly I tried that and just ended up poking myself awkwardly in the face for five minutes. Weirdly enough, switching pillows helped me more—cheap fix and no more morning boxing matches with my jaw. Worth a try maybe?
Totally get what you mean about the pillow thing—I had a similar issue a while back. Kept waking up feeling like I'd been clenching my teeth all night, jaw was sore as heck. Tried the massage thing too, but honestly, it just felt awkward and didn't do much. Weirdly enough, switching to a flatter pillow made a huge difference for me. Guess my neck angle was messing things up? Anyway, glad you found something simple that works!
