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I definitely grind my teeth at night and during the day I clamp my jaw very tightly -- only when I'm stressed though. Unfortunately, since I work full-time, go to school full-time, have kids, a husband, a house, animals, etc, etc, etc I'm pretty much stressed ALL of the time. Usually when a semester ends and there is a short break before the next begins it takes about a week and then all of the sudden my jaw muscles just KILL. I don't even realize I am grinding and clamping until I de-stress and relax. I mean, I know I do it. But I'm not aware of how much I do it until afterwards. I relax those muscles and then they HURT. They heal just in time for the next semester to start, usually.
The most frustrating part is that I brush, floss and rinse twice daily -- religiously. Stay away from sugar drinks, foods, etc. My husband? Lives on candy, donuts, regular soda, etc. Runs a toothbrush over his teeth twice a day, never flosses, only rinses on special occasions and has NEVER had an issue. I think in the 10 years we've been together he has had one TINY cavity.
Your dentist sounds wonderful. I really think a big part of my issue with the dentist lately is the staff. My old hygienist quit and the new one is .... not nice. I feel like she doesn't believe me that I'm taking care of my teeth even though she says they're clean, my technique looks good, etc it just seems whenever she finds an issue there's an undertone of disapproval. I'm not generally one to be sensitive to this kind of stuff, but I suppose this has just become one of those things. Well... here's hoping this new dentist does the trick. His receptionist was wonderful over the phone. We'll see...