So anxious and upset about my teeth

Hey guys,

Recently work has taken a bit of a stressful turn and on Friday I found myself having quite a few panic attacks - i thought i’d been doing pretty well lately but it just caught up with me. On Friday night I went to bed and woke up the next morning clenching my teeth together, with quite a pain in the tooth that bore the brunt of the clenching. It’s now Sunday evening and it’s showing no signs of getting better, the tooth feels pretty numb and I can’t eat on that side of my mouth because whenever i put pressure on it i get shoots of pain go up it.

I am so upset and fed up because I’m worried this is an abscess, I am gearing myself up to get an emergency dentist appointment in the morning to check it out but I haven’t been to the dentist in years (sorry - another thing I get anxious about!) and I’m driving myself crazy.

I keep thinking “it might go away on its own!” And “what if i chicken out going to the dentist or it gets worse?” I’ve hardly eaten anything today and i’m just at my wits end. I have clenched my teeth in my sleep in the past but i’ve never done it this bad before.

Honestly, any virtual hugs or words of encouragement you guys can give would be greatly appreciated. I am driving myself nuts here! :weep:

Clenching teeth at night is often the cause of various tooth, jaw, and facial pains. I think your dentist will see it as a very common occurrence. Your dentist may recommend a mouth guard for nighttime.

I don't think this is from an abscess since you can tie the pain directly to your clenching, but please do get back to regular checkups, that can help prevent things like an abscess and a lot of pain in the future. Think about how you feel now, do you want this same feeling for a bigger problem later?

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How odd - I'm having exactly the same dilemma and I have a phobia about the dentists....

I clench my teeth during sleep and constantly find the insides of my cheeks stuck between my teeth during the daytime when I'm concentrating or stressed out. This morning I was in the same situation as you having clenched all night and the teeth on one side hurt to chew - has eased off during the course of the day. I also have fibromyalgia and TMJ which means I can feel every sensation or ache in my mouth tenfold - even when there is no trauma.

Even the thought of my check-up booked for this week is making me feel sick as I always fear that the dentist is going to want to start messing with my teeth or find something to lecture me about. Have a slightly loose back molar from the teeth grinding - been like that for a year and not causing me any distress - but there's always the 'what if?' dilemma.

Quite frankly I find it better to stay well away unless the pain is agonising, or you have bleeding or a piece of a tooth breaks off or falls out. Others will tell you different - but that's my modus operandi.

If you've been doing some serious clenching you have probably just irritated the muscles in the jaw and strained the ligaments supporting the teeth. Give it a day or two to ease off - which it probably will - and if it doesn't then give the dentist a shot.