Clenching question

[John Roberts]

Is it possible I am clenching my teeth and don't realize it. My teeth hurt to the touch all the time. Mainly from half way forward top and bottom. I am missing a top molar on the right and a bottom molar on the left. I know the occlusion there isn't good. I sleep with a soft nightguard on the bottom teeth. She I wake up in the morning my teeth feel ok only because they aren't touching. I am wondering if I put them together to hard during the day and making them hurt more as the day goes on.

 

[honestdoc]

According to TMJ expert Dr. Jeffrey Okeson from Univ of Kentucky, your teeth only touch 20 minutes a day including all meals and function. At rest, your teeth are about 1 cm or 0.25 inch apart. If you notice your teeth clenching during focus or stress, you are exceeding that 20 minutes and risking pain and possible teeth damage as well as TMJ dysfunction.

 

[John Roberts]

Thank you Honestdoc. We have talked on here before. I am 73 now and until all this started I never noticed or paid any attention to how my teeth functioned. This is going on three years now. At rest mine probably are 1cm apart but everytime I swallow they come together especially the front teeth. I do have a overbite. One of the dentist told me that I have a overbite which I never paid any attention to. My two front teeth are crowned and they are actually too long which I think makes the overbite look worse.
Anyway my teeth come together everytime I swallow and I wonder if that could be causing them to stay sensitive to the touch. Like I said my bite doesn't feel right. It does feel like my front teeth come together maybe a little too much.
I guess my question is can my teeth contacting everytime I swallow keep them sore, or sensitive to the touch all the time and never get any better. If that were to be the case I don't know what I could do. Thank you for the reply. I haven't found out much here.

 

[honestdoc]

Where are you located? If you live in the US, hopefully you have medical insurance. Find a TMJ specialist (usually dentists with extra training) that will take your medical carrier and have an evaluation. Pain associated with TMJ will usually be covered by medical.