I tried one of those mouth sprays but honestly, it just made the metallic taste worse for me—kind of like spraying fake saliva over everything. Did you get any headaches from clenching? I noticed my jaw ached more than my gums after a few days.
Did you get any headaches from clenching? I noticed my jaw ached more than my gums after a few days.
That’s interesting—jaw pain actually became more of an issue for me than the incision site too. I wouldn’t say I had full-on headaches, but there was definitely tension around my temples, especially at night. Did your dentist mention anything about using a mouth guard post-surgery? Mine suggested it, but I wasn’t sure if it’d make things better or just add to the discomfort. Curious if anyone else found relief with that approach or if it just made things worse.
Did your dentist mention anything about using a mouth guard post-surgery? Mine suggested it, but I wasn’t sure if it’d make things better or just add to the discomfort.
Yeah, my dentist suggested the mouth guard too, but honestly, I chickened out after one night. It felt like having a giant piece of plastic stuck in my mouth when all I wanted was to NOT think about my teeth for five minutes. I ended up just sleeping with a pillow propped under my jaw to keep things relaxed (not sure if that actually helped or just made me look weird).
Jaw tension is no joke though. I noticed my temples would get sore, and sometimes it felt like I’d been chewing gum in my sleep. I did try some gentle jaw stretches before bed and that seemed to take the edge off a bit. Not saying it’s a miracle fix, but at least I didn’t wake up feeling like I’d been gnawing on rocks.
Everyone’s got their own weird tricks—mine was ice packs and binge-watching bad reality TV to distract myself from the ache.
I actually stuck with the mouth guard after my surgery, even though it felt like sleeping with a hockey puck in my mouth at first. Not gonna lie, those first few nights were rough—lots of drool, and I sounded like I had marbles in my mouth if I tried to talk. But after a week or so, it got easier, and I swear my jaw stopped aching as much. Maybe I just got used to it, or maybe it actually worked... hard to say. But for me, ditching it made the tension worse, so I powered through. Everyone’s mouths are weird in their own ways, I guess.
Man, I totally get the hockey puck vibe. My dentist gave me this “budget-friendly” guard (aka the cheapest one on Amazon) and it felt like a chew toy for the first week. Honestly, I almost bailed, but my jaw pain came back fast when I skipped a night. Not glamorous, but hey—beats paying for more dental work later.