New upsetting tic for a old Tourette.
 

Allow me start from the beginning. I am a happily married (for 23 years) man with 2 young girls. I first heard about TS when I was 31. Only to also to discover that I had it AND ocd. My tocs are mild. But have been moderate at one time years ago. Well, I have developed a new tic. I gnash my teeth together. At times its slightly painful. It's one of those tics though that come at random. So its not exactly like one of those tics that I can channel into another one, or suppress. I have echopraxia, echoalia, but nothing corprpalia. I done tje med thong. Not going there again. How can I save my teeth? BTW, its been years since I've been to this site.

Hello!

Sorry you're experiencing problems with the teeth. Have you tried chewing gum to offset the tic? Sometimes just changing something like that can work during the day time. Chewing gum can change the muscles that are being used when you have the teeth tics.

If you're grinding your teeth at night you should see someone in the dental field. A properly fitted mouth guard can be useful. My son used one for a while when he was very young. Even the ones you can buy at the pharmacy are better than nothing temporarily.

Some medications can cause jaw clenching temporarily so if you've just started a new medication you could look into that.

Hopefully it'll wane soon. It's important to keep an eye on the teeth so that they don't get broken or worn down too much.

Make sure you don't have any neglected dental work too, because a broken tooth or a painful tooth might just be making the tics worse.

Yes, Lara is right.

SSRI antidepressants can cause side effects
In the mouth/neck. Jaw spasms or grinding
The teeth or neck spasms may result as side
Effects. If this is your trigger don't suddenly
Stop any medication but see your doctor and
Discuss this. A careful taper is needed to discontinue
SSRIs.

Meds aren't the problem. I though I only take metoprolol for mild mital valve prolapse. The teeth tic is only a brief note, not a grinding. And not while sleeping. Gum sounds plausible though. I may try that. And yes, I also hope this too wanes. I have had worse tics.