Hi all,

I am mostly recovered but am still dealing with this issue:

When I sleep at night, I think I'm having some mild jaw clenching. It's not so much teeth grinding, but rather general tension and tongue pressure. You know how kids suck their thumb as a self-soothing habit? I think that when I'm asleep, I subconsciously (or semi-consciously) push my tongue up into the top half of my mouth and against the inside of my teeth (front and sides). When I wake up, I notice that my teeth ache a bit or are somewhat numb.

I dealt with a fair bit of stress during my recovery, for various reasons. I think that this tongue/jaw thing may have been a response to the stress. I'm doing so much better, but still have this issue hanging around.

Years ago, during a stressful time in my life, I had some teeth clenching / grinding and used a nightguard for a few months. Eventually I no longer needed it. However, the issue came back after my concussion and I started using a nightguard again. The clenching seems to have largely (not completely) subsided, but I still have this tongue thing.

Anyone else have success dealing with this issue? Is this fundamentally a stress-related issue (reduce stress to alleviate the clenching/tongue pressure habit)? Are there any proven therapies that can help?

Thanks and best wishes with all your recoveries.