I need advice and help with jaw tension please?

The jaw guard is important because it will help prevent dental damage. You can shatter a tooth by bruxing.

In order to stop you will have to somehow reduce the stress and anxiety and tension that may be causing it.

I agree that the night guard will help. Plus, now that you won’t be grinding your teeth at night, perhaps the sensation of you doing it during the day will be more evident and can alert you quicker to the clenching.

I clench often when I’m thinking hard. I’ve noticed over time, that the clenching comes from my neck area. So I’ve started a trial of sorts. I’m now trying to use a different muscle group as my ‘thinking muscle’, if that makes any sense. I’m trying to use my shoulders instead. It’s working pretty well so far, it’s just taking a lot of practice.

in addition to the night guard, I would consider Hatha Yoga. You can tell the instructor that you would like to worl on jaw clenching issues. Another practice that might help you is meditation.

These things will reduce your stress levels and have a positive physical effect as well.

Clenching is very likely the main cause of your headaches, so reducing the clenching with a night guard will be quite helpful to you I think. Of course, reducing stress in your daily life wouldn’t hurt, either.

A while ago I had some jaw problems as well, and I went to my family chiropractor to straighten it out. My problem was that my jaw would constantly pop when I opened it; when It tried to stop popping it (since it hurt), the pain/tension just built until I popped it again. Once I went to the chiropractor the problem basically went away. Some people don’t consider chiropractic medicine “real” because it works differently for individual people, but it might be something you would want to consider for your jaw trouble.

Awareness is a good first step.
So in the daytime, when you notice yourself clenching, exhale, and relax your jaw. That’s all you need to do.
With practice you will cure it. That’s what happened to me. I used to be a teeth grinder too.

Don’t worry, jaw clenching and teeth grinding just means you have a habit of clenching your jaw when stressed. Different people put tensions in different places—some hold their tension in the neck; others frown a lot. Some people eat when they’re stressed… others get drunk…

You might want to look at your life and see what kind of things are potential sources of tension. As Marina said, finding a relaxation practice like yoga is very helpful. I myself do tai chi, but there are many different destressing/relaxation techniques, from regular exercise to meditation. You should find one that works for you.

@lifeflame Good addition! I do tai chi as well. I find it valuable for noticing tension in the body and for reducing stress.

I find that I clench when stressed, and can even hear my jaw muscle spasm. As noted, awareness is the first step… so when you catch yourself clenching, relax and even massage the jaw joint if possible. Avoid chewing gum, as well. Applying heat to that area can also help relax the muscle there. Ibuprofen can also help with the discomfort and headaches.

A lot of people like to say that stress is a factor in jaw clenching. I’m not terribly sure that’s correct for me. I’m very rarely stressed, yet clench my teeth all the time.

When it came to using a night-guard it did not change my habits during the day and it did not stop me from clenching my teeth at night. It merely cushions the pressure I put on my teeth at night so as to prevent cracking.

I’ve been working on keeping aware of clenching but it still hasn’t made much of a difference. I’ve tried keeping a schedule to check and it always falls though. Even when I do keep the schedule I still find that the attention I pay doesn’t actually break the habit, I am simply more aware that I have the habit.

Something that was mentioned in my question was biofeedback. I’ve since looked into it a bit and it sounds very promising, although expensive. Biofeedback links the phenomenon of clenching directly to a sensation that you will notice every time you begin clenching. Habits like clenching form from not being aware that you are doing it. Biofeedback allows you to be aware at every instance and correct these habits through Pavlovian response. I’d really like to try this and have gone so far as to consider making my own device.