Do you wake up with a sore jaw, headaches, or tooth pain? It may be time to get in touch with your dentist about a night guard. A night guard, also known as an occlusal guard, occlusal splint, or bite splint, is a plastic mold that fits over some or all of your teeth — most commonly your top teeth. This guard not only relieves the annoying (and sometimes painful) symptoms of teeth grinding, but it can also prevent long term damage to your teeth.
Bruxism, or teeth grinding, is the act of clenching your jaw at night (sometimes during the day) and then moving it around so that your upper and lower teeth rub together. This puts excessive pressure on your teeth, severe cases can lead to headaches, jaw disorders, and damage to the teeth. It also puts a lot of pressure on your jaw, hence why you may wake up with a sore jaw.
You may not even know you are grinding your teeth at night and could benefit from a mouth guard for teeth grinding. Ask a friend, family member, or spouse to take note while you sleep and see if they hear you grinding your teeth.
In the meantime, be on the lookout for common symptoms of teeth grinding, such as:
Relieve tooth pain and headaches with a custom night guard.
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The number one benefit of a night guard is minimizing the damage bruxism causes to your teeth. However, a night guard can provide many additional benefits including:
It is common for people to grind or clench their teeth occasionally, but it doesn’t usually cause a problem until teeth grinding becomes a regular occurrence. The problem is that the grinding and clenching often happens at night, and the person doesn’t realize the issues are happening while they are sleeping.
Several factors can increase the risk of teeth grinding and clenching. Identifying the underlying factors can be beneficial so that you can explore other treatments or solutions to use in addition to wearing a night guard:
A few habits can play a role in teeth grinding at night. Wearing a night guard can be essential for this problem, but you can also change your lifestyle to reduce the tension in your jaw. Here are a few other tips that help with the reduction of nighttime teeth grinding:
While the cost of a custom night guard may seem a lot more than the stock variety, you need to consider the costs that a custom night guard will prevent. Bruxism is the leading cause of dental damage and root canals. A root canal is an expensive dental procedure and one that night guards help prevent. As you grind your teeth, you wear down the enamel, increasing the risk of dental decay and injury to the tooth, resulting in more costly dental procedures. Unlike stock mouth guards, a custom guard ensures that your jaw is properly aligned. A stock guard does not do this and disrupting jaw alignment can cause even more issues.
A night guard doesn’t necessarily stop you from grinding your teeth. In fact, researchers admit there is no known way to stop your brain from clenching and grinding your jaw since you cannot control movements in your sleep. So, the next best thing you can do is protect your teeth from damages by shielding them with a night guard. This provides a barrier between your lower and upper teeth and puts some space in between the two. That way, you wear down the guard instead of your natural tooth enamel.
When you are first fitted with a nightguard, it may be a good idea to spend an hour or two the first day wearing it while you are awake. This will help you get used to the feel of the guard being in place. Getting used to the guard in your mouth can feel normal right away or may take months to get used to. Having a custom night guard can usually minimize this process as the guard is made to fit your teeth. The greatest problem with adjustments typically comes from stock night guards.
Dr. Jennifer Silver has helped patients in Calgary relieve annoying and painful symptoms of teeth grinding for the past 15 years! She understands that every patient is unique and a one size fits all night guard just won’t cut it. Contact her today to get fitted for your very own custom night guard.
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