Do I Need to Wear a Night Guard?
A night guard is a mouth guard that you wear at night while sleeping that protects against damage & discomfort caused by teeth grinding or clenching.
Known as bruxism to dentists, teeth clenching & grinding is an unconscious behavior experienced by both children & adults. Because it often happens when you’re asleep, many patients are unaware that they have bruxism until they learn about the symptoms or the dentist notices damage.
Symptoms of teeth grinding & clenching include:
· Teeth grinding or clenching, which may be loud enough to wake up your sleep partner
· Teeth that are flattened, fractured, chipped or loose
· Worn tooth enamel, exposing deeper layers of your tooth
· Increased tooth pain or sensitivity
· Tired or tight jaw muscles, or a locked jaw that won't open or close completely
· Jaw, neck or face pain or soreness
· Pain that feels like an earache, though it's actually not a problem with your ear
· Dull headache starting in the temples
· Damage from chewing on the inside of your cheek
· Sleep disruption
What Night Guards are the best?
While there are over the counter nightguards available, we highly recommend custom night guards. Here’s why: the pre-formed & boil-and-bite guards you find at the drugstore are not as durable or comfortable as custom nightguards. They’re more likely to impede speech or breathing, slip around or poke you in the gums. When a mouthguard is uncomfortable, you’re less likely to wear it, therefore you’ll be exposed to all the potential problems the nightguard is meant to prevent.
Custom night guards are created from an exact model of your mouth that we make by taking a mold of your teeth. Once your night guard has been fabricated, you’ll try it on for fit at our office & if anything doesn’t feel right, we can have it adjusted until it’s comfortable.
Protect your smile, its the only one you get! Call us today (920) 854-5200 if you feel like you may benefit from a custom-fit night guard.