Do night guards make you clench even harder?

My dentist told me I have bruxism the condition where I grind my teeth while sleeping. Since then, I have bought one of those heat and mold night guards sold at drug stores. I assume its working, judging by the wear on the bottom of the night guard after only a month. But my main concern is does having the night guard in my mouth make me clench and chew even more?

My experience after only a month is that the night guard is pretty uncomfortable to wear. I've actually had to trim it at the the ends so that my mouth can close more. But there are still times when I can't fall asleep with the night guard in my mouth because my cheeks get sore. On a humorous note, there were times when I would actually dream about eating food and wake up to find myself chewing on my night guard. But all this gets me worried that using a night guard might be worsening my night time jaw clenching. Is this possible?

You still clench, but this will diminish over time. The guard prevents the teeth from meeting and locking. The locked grinding causes fractures, TMJ or other damage. (All of which I've experienced.) The clenching, while using a guard, no longer results in locking and grinding of upper and lower teeth. The clenching now results in the sliding of the teeth meeting the smooth surface of the guard. Over time the clenching will ease, but keep using a guard. The clench marks on the guard are to be expected, I've had three over the years.

The best ones are those made through a dentist, but they are expensive. If you do get one, keep it in it's container. After my dog chewed my brand new bite splint, the dentist told me it was common because it has your scent. Go figure! Just something I learned the hard way.

Yes it does make you clench and chew more. Grinding your teeth is a symptom of anxiety and it doesn't go away just because you try to treat that symptom.

You may tend to bite more because your mouth senses there's something there to play with. It took me forever to stop playing with my plastic retainer!

To ease the pain you have 2 options. If you have insurance, you could get a dentist to make a mold of your teeth and make you a perfectly form-fitting nightguard that would be more like those invisalign plastic braces or retainer. No pain.

Or... You can use silicone putty found in the ear plug section of the drugstore. The putty is harmless if swallowed, is very easy to shape, and adheres well. Dental wax just crumbles or falls off. So take the putty and place it over any parts of the guard that may be causing soreness inside your cheeks. It's also super cheap.