I’ve been using a bite splint for almost three months now and I have a few questions relating to their use.
My dentist is german and his english is poor so I have trouble getting a clear answer from him.
Basically, before I was diagnosed, I had noticed I was clenching my jaw and grinding my teeth in my sleep. It wasn’t too severe though and I wasn’t grinding all the time or with any great pressure.
Since using the bite splint at night, every time I wake up i’m biting hard on the splint as if that’s the most comfortable position for my jaw to be in. On the odd occasion where i’ve not used my splint at night, I found my self grinding my teeth quite severely and waking up with a lot of pain in the morning. It was never this bad before. The muscles in my jaw feel exhausted and it’s now difficult to keep my jaw open for extended periods. In short, my grinding has severely worsened and I think it may be due to the bite splint. However, when I don’t wear the splint, it’s even worse.

I’ve recently moved and i’m seeing a new dentist next week. I just wanted to know if anyone else had a similar experience with the splint. Could it be that my splint doesn’t fit properly? Is the idea of the splint to stop you grinding completely or merely to put a layer of protection between your teeth? I’m definitely grinding a lot more since i’ve had the splint.

Any advice greatly appreciated