instruction: hello doctor I have been having a little bit of jaw pain from time to time and also a dull pain in different teeth at different times I suffer from bruxism and have a custom dental night guard but for the last month I am feeling pain as if I am grinding at night the dental guard split in half but it still fits perfectly the infrequent systems started before this split what could be happening I try to be conscious not to clench or grind during the day but two weeks ago the dull pain in my molars required me to take anvil what could be happening I hope it is not wearing my teeth further I am more concerned with this than the pain
output: hello I understand your concern this could be a temporomandibular joint taj issue temporo mandibular joint is the jaw joint between the upper jaw and the lower jaw and involves multiple and complex structures like a disc between two jaws chewing muscles and the joining bone structure a complete taj and dental evaluation should be done to determine what is causing your jaw pain and bruxism is not a condition but one of the main symptoms of a taj disorder it could be because of tensed chewing muscles disparity in the disc changes in jaw bone structure other than taj issues it could be due to psychological stress misaligned teeth multiple dental treatments recent dental injury or infection visit a taj specialist to identify the cause initially a splint similar to your night guard called deprogrammed appliance will be suggested as a diagnostic appliance to identify the cause once the cause is determined the treatment depends on it I hope this helps