Calm, considered assessment and management for jaw pain, clicking, headaches and grinding — with a custom splint designed to protect your teeth and help you feel more comfortable day to day.
Jaw pain, clicking, headaches and worn teeth are often signs of a strained jaw joint (temporomandibular disorder, or TMD) and of grinding or clenching (bruxism). At Whitehorse Dental, 129A Canterbury Road, Blackburn, we help manage these conservatively — starting with a careful assessment of your bite, jaw and muscles, then, where suitable, a custom occlusal splint (night guard) designed to protect your teeth and ease the impact of grinding, plus simple habit advice. It's important to be clear from the start: this approach helps manage and may reduce your symptoms rather than curing them, and what suits you is individualised and determined after an examination. Dr Melissa Huang has cared for local families for over 20 years, and consultations are available in Mandarin, Cantonese, Teochew, Shanghainese and English, with Saturday appointments.
| Sign or symptom | Possible cause | How we help |
|---|---|---|
| Morning jaw ache or tightness | Night-time clenching / grinding | Assessment + custom night splint |
| Clicking or locking jaw | Strain on the jaw joint (TMD) | Occlusal analysis, referral if needed |
| Headaches around the temples | Jaw-muscle tension | Splint + habit & posture advice |
| Worn, flat or sensitive teeth | Enamel wear from grinding | Protect teeth; restore where worn |
| Grinding heard at night | Bruxism (often stress-linked) | Splint designed to protect teeth |
TMD and bruxism rarely have a single cause — usually it's a combination of factors. The most common contributors we see are everyday stress and tension (from work, study or family life) that shows up physically as clenching and grinding, often during sleep without you realising it, along with bite factors where the upper and lower teeth don't meet comfortably. These aren't character flaws or something you're doing wrong; they're common in busy, working-age adults, and the good news is that the effects can usually be managed conservatively.
The reason we take grinding seriously is what it does to teeth over time. Left unmanaged, grinding gradually wears down enamel, flattens biting surfaces and can chip or crack teeth — which is why prevention matters: protecting teeth from grinding now helps preserve them for the long term. Where wear has already occurred, we can discuss options such as tooth-coloured fillings for smaller areas, or crowns and bridges where teeth are more heavily worn, to help restore and protect them.
There's no single fix for TMD, but a considered, step-by-step approach helps us understand what's contributing to your symptoms and manage them. Knowing the sequence takes the uncertainty out of it:
Australian Dental Association (ADA) item numbers identify each procedure on your receipt and private health-fund claim. They're national identifiers — not fees — so they're the same wherever you're treated, and worth quoting when you check your cover. The codes you're most likely to see for jaw-pain and grinding management are:
| ADA item | Procedure |
|---|---|
| 963 | Clinical occlusal analysis — diagnostic assessment of bite, muscles and joint (not the splint) |
| 965 | Occlusal splint — the custom night guard itself |
| 966 | Adjustment of an existing occlusal appliance |
The figures below are general indicative ranges across Australian clinics (2025), provided as a guide only — they are not a quote and not a statement of Whitehorse Dental’s fees. Your exact cost is confirmed in a written treatment plan after your assessment.
| Type | Indicative range (AUD) |
|---|---|
| Custom occlusal splint / night guard | $400 – $900 |
Indicative Australian ranges (2025) shown as a general guide only, not a quote. If you hold private extras cover, we can help you check your rebate before you commit.
The figure above is a general Australian guide only. Your final splint cost is confirmed in a written treatment plan after your assessment, once we've examined your bite and jaw and know exactly what suits you. If you hold private extras cover, an occlusal splint (ADA 965) usually falls under major or general dental — we can help you check your rebate before you commit.
Grinding, clenching and the headaches and worn teeth that come with them are especially common in busy, working-age adults — and Blackburn is exactly that kind of community. In the 2021 Census the suburb's median age was 41, a settled, professional population 16 kilometres east of Melbourne's CBD. Jaw tension is one of the ways everyday stress quietly shows up, and it's often a partner or family member who first notices the grinding at night. From our Canterbury Road practice we look after patients across Blackburn, Blackburn North and Blackburn South, and neighbouring Box Hill, Nunawading, Forest Hill, Mitcham and Vermont South. Both Blackburn and Laburnum stations sit a short walk away, and there's on-site parking.
Describing jaw pain accurately — where it is, when it flares, how it feels — really matters for a good assessment, and that's easier in your first language. Blackburn has a large, long-established Chinese-Australian community: 17.7% of residents reported Chinese ancestry in 2021, and across the wider City of Whitehorse it is the single largest ancestry at 26.2%. Around one in ten Blackburn residents speaks Mandarin at home, with a further share speaking Cantonese. So consultations at Whitehorse Dental are available in Mandarin, Cantonese, Teochew, Shanghainese and English — throughout your care, not just at the front desk.
It's easy to confuse different mouth appliances, so it helps to be clear about what each one is for. If your main concern is snoring or disturbed sleep, that's a different device — see our snoring and sleep-apnoea appliances (ADA items 983 / 984), which are designed to help keep the airway open rather than to manage grinding. If you play contact sport, a custom sports mouthguard protects against impact injuries — again, a separate appliance from a night splint. And because grinding is often first spotted during a routine visit, a check-up and clean is a sensible place to start.
Whitehorse Dental is at 129A Canterbury Road, Blackburn VIC 3130 — easily reached from across the eastern suburbs by train or car, with on-site parking. If you're noticing morning jaw soreness, frequent headaches, a clicking jaw or teeth that look worn, it's worth having it assessed before it becomes a bigger issue. Saturday appointments make it easier to fit around work. Call us on (03) 8838 8820 or book online to arrange a jaw-pain assessment.
We don't describe what we do as a cure. TMJ disorder (TMD) and grinding are usually ongoing conditions that we help manage rather than permanently resolve. With a custom occlusal splint and simple habit advice, many people find their symptoms — jaw soreness, headaches, clicking — become more comfortable and better controlled over time. What suits you is individualised and determined after an examination, and we're honest about realistic expectations from the outset.
An occlusal splint (often called a night guard) is a custom-made device fitted over your teeth, usually worn while you sleep. It's designed to cushion the contact between your upper and lower teeth and to protect tooth surfaces and the jaw joint from the forces of clenching and grinding. It's a management aid — it helps reduce the impact of grinding rather than stopping the habit itself. The splint is the ADA 965 item; it's made individually to fit your mouth after an assessment.
Ongoing grinding and clenching (bruxism) can gradually wear down enamel, flatten or chip biting surfaces, and increase sensitivity or the risk of cracked teeth over time. That's why we take a prevention-first view: protecting teeth from further wear early on helps preserve them long-term. Where teeth are already worn, we can discuss options such as tooth-coloured fillings or crowns to help restore and protect them.
As a general Australian guide, a custom occlusal splint / night guard typically ranges from around $400 to $900 — this is indicative only, not a quote or a statement of our fees. The final cost is confirmed in a written treatment plan after your assessment, once we've examined your bite and jaw. On your receipt and health-fund claim the splint appears under ADA item 965. If you hold private extras cover, we can help you check any rebate before you commit.
The item numbers you're most likely to see are 963 (clinical occlusal analysis — the diagnostic assessment of your bite, muscles and joint, not the splint itself), 965 (the custom occlusal splint / night guard), and 966 (adjustment of an existing occlusal appliance). These are national Australian Dental Association identifiers used on your receipt and private health-fund claim — they identify the procedure, they are not fees.
No — they're different devices for different problems. An occlusal splint (ADA 965) is designed to protect your teeth and jaw from clenching and grinding. An anti-snoring or sleep-apnoea appliance is a separate mandibular advancement device (ADA items 983 / 984) designed to help keep the airway open during sleep. If snoring or disturbed sleep is your main concern, see our snoring and sleep-apnoea appliances page instead.
Many people don't realise they grind until someone points to the signs. Common ones include morning jaw soreness or tightness, headaches around the temples, a clicking jaw, teeth that look worn or flat, increased tooth sensitivity, or a partner who hears grinding at night. If several of these sound familiar, it's worth an assessment so any contributing factors can be identified.
Assessment starts with a conversation about your symptoms and history, followed by a clinical occlusal analysis (ADA 963) — examining your jaw movement, bite alignment, muscles and teeth for signs of wear from clenching or grinding. This builds a picture of what may be contributing to your discomfort and which management approach may suit you. Where a splint is appropriate, we take impressions and have it custom-made, then fit and adjust it over follow-up visits.
A splint is designed to protect your teeth and reduce the impact of grinding on the jaw joint — it manages the effects rather than stopping the habit. Alongside the splint, we offer simple advice on daytime clenching, jaw posture and stress-related habits that may be contributing. Results are individualised, and we review how you're going and adjust the splint (ADA 966) as needed.
Yes. Consultations at Whitehorse Dental are available in Mandarin, Cantonese, Teochew, Shanghainese and English. Describing exactly how jaw pain feels — where, when and how bad — matters for an accurate assessment, so being able to explain it in your first language helps nothing get lost. Saturday appointments are available for working locals.