Night Guards: How They Can Help With Teeth Grinding

Have you ever had the following happen to you? You wake up with a sore jaw, tooth pain, or a headache? These are common symptoms of sleep bruxism, or teeth-grinding. The American Dental Association estimates that 10-30% of adults struggle with sleep bruxism, and children can experience it too. Because it happens during sleep, it can be difficult to control or stop.

Common Signs of Teeth Grinding

1. Chronic grinding

2. Jaw soreness or tight jaw muscles

3. Flat, loose or chipped teeth

4. Frequent headaches

5. Increased tooth sensitivity

   
   

If you experience any of these signs, schedule a consultation with your dentist right away for a proper diagnosis and treatment. If left unmanaged, chronic teeth grinding can result in:

Fracturing, loosening, or loss of teeth. The chronic grinding may also wear teeth down to stumps. In time, you may need bridges, crowns, root canals, implants, partial dentures, and even complete dentures to restore your smile. Not only can severe grinding damage teeth and result in tooth loss, it can also affect your jaws, cause or worsen TMD/TMJ, and even change the appearance of your face.

Night Guards

 One way to protect the teeth from the damaging effects of grinding is to wear a night guard. Night guards are known by various names, including mouthguards, occlusal guards, dental guards, bite splints, and nocturnal bite plates.. They come in hard, medium, and soft varieties, with the soft ones resembling mouth guards for sports and hard ones resembling clear plastic retainers, though they’re much sturdier and you usually only need one for the upper teeth. Wearing a night guard provides a cushioning effect so that the upper and lower teeth can’t wear away at each other. It will protect your teeth from external damage caused by grinding, such as chipping and erosion, but as long as the grinding still happens, other symptoms like jaw pain may not change.

Customized vs. Over-the-Counter Options

You can either buy your night guard over-the-counter or get a custom night guard from the dentist. A typical over-the-counter night guard requires you to shape it to your teeth by boiling it, allowing it a moment to cool, and then gently biting into it. If you obtain your night guard through your dentist, the added comfort and quality is well worth it. These night guards are made in a laboratory from an impression of your teeth taken by dental professionals. Professionally-made night guards tend to fit more securely, last longer and are less bulky, which will increase the likelihood that you will wear your night guard every night. Most insurances also cover night guards which can help make the cost on par with over the counter versions.

Ask Us About Your Night Guard

If you think you might have bruxism, don’t wait; come talk to us about it. Your dentist can examine your teeth for tell-tale signs of teeth grinding. We can get you your perfect night guard, and we can also help you with other methods of reducing the symptoms, such as discussing ways to reduce stress levels and recommending an orthodontist if misaligned teeth are contributing to the grinding. Treating teeth grinding can help prevent damage to your teeth and gums that can lead to more expensive and invasive procedures, so schedule your consultation today by giving us a call or request an appointment online

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.