there are pills you can take, but it is a habit and habits are so damn hard to break especially when we only realise we are doing it when it hurts!

This is a super hard one to break, just when you realise what you are doing stop and try and let your muscles relax and the tension to leave your body.

I hope someone can come up with an answer for you.

thank you! you're right, it is difficult to break since i don't notice it until it is too late. i will admit that it is better than doing it in my sleep.... during some really bad times i can barely open my mouth when i wake up because of the pain. at least when i am awake i can stop before it gets that bad.

A mouth guard will help. See your dentist to be fitted for one.

I have the same problem too - lots of times I can't relax enough to get the pain to go away. One thing that does help me is to take a small massager I have and massage my gums, cheeks, bones, temples, under the chin and it does help some. If you find anything else that helps please let me know.

I have this problem too. I didn't even realize I was doing it until my dentist told me I was causing serious damage to my teeth. My clenching is due to my anxiety.

I've taught myself to rest my tongue between my teeth. My tongue acts as a cushion AND if I start clenching I'll know because it'll hurt like a beast. I've also managed to learn how to relax my jaw a bit. Both of these techniques took a lot of time to get down pact, but I'm doing it and saving myself from more dental work. Haha.

My dentist also made me a night guard for when I sleep. Maybe you can look into that for some jaw relief.