ellid | Goodie goodie *OWEE OWEE OWEE*

Yesterday morning I woke up to the most ferocious tooth grinding I've ever felt in my life. I really thought I was going to crush my lower molar, the grinding was so bad. It literally felt as if my upper jaw was in the wrong place. I waited for the clenching sensation to fade, ate a bagel for breakfast, and went about my day.

The pain started a bit after lunch. It was bad enough that I actually checked my teeth to see if it was yet another molar going bad, but no such luck - the *teeth* aren't the problem. It was this awful, dull ache that started in my lower jaw and spread along my jaw hinge and throat and face. It got worse throughout the day despite massive doses of ibuprofen, to the point that I stopped at Walgreen's after choir for some Orajel to try to numb it. That helped a bit but not much, so I took even more Advil before bed and prayed it would be better today.

Of course I called my dentist...and as soon as the office manager, who has known me for over twenty years, heard me say "I felt like my jaw wasn't in the right place," she said "It sounds like TMJ. We could give you a muscle relaxant, but you really need to start wearing a good night guard if you don't want this to happen again."

I thought about it, and realized she's probably right. I've been using a very flimsy nightguard for months, but it's time to bite the bullet and get a good one. I have a therapy appointment tomorrow night in Northampton after work, and fortunately this place is open until 6:00. I'm going to stop by, tell them my tale of woe, and basically beg.

If a new nightguard doesn't help, I'll call my dentist again and see about getting x-rays or something. I haven't been able to eat solid food today, and if I open my mouth enough to get something soft inside, like soup or yogurt, my jaw starts to ache again. Not much fun.

OTOH, maybe I'll lose a few pounds if I can't chew...*rolls eyes*....