Teeth grinding and clenching can damage your teeth, jaw, and even the rest of your body if left untreated. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent this behavior and ensure your teeth stay healthy, including using a teeth guard at night. Here’s what you need to know about these specialized mouth guards and how they can help protect your smile.
Why Do People Grind or Clench their Teeth?
If you’re stressed, anxious, or frustrated, you’re more likely to clench your teeth at night or throughout the day. There are numerous reasons a person can be clenching or grinding his teeth, but the end effect is nearly always discomfort. Your lower jaw joints might inflame and wear down over time if you suffer from bruxism regularly. The best way to prevent bruxism from taking over your life is to get personalized dental guards that are both comfortable to wear and sturdy and effective. You can choose from various bespoke night guards based on the severity of your teeth grinding. How does it all go down, exactly? Teeth grinding and clenching might damage your teeth if you don’t use a custom-fitted mouthguard that separates the upper and lower arches. Whether you need an upper or lower night guard, you must visit a Teeth Night Guard Lab and follow the simple instructions to acquire your custom teeth guard.
What is a Teeth Night Guard?
There are two types of nightguards: hard and soft. Either of these mouth guards can protect the top or bottom teeth. A nightguard is custom-made for each patient by molding it to fit your teeth without the possibility of discomfort or unnecessary bulkiness because each patient’s teeth are unique. Because it goes by so many names, you may hear dentists refer to it as anything from a mouthguard to an occlusal guard to a bite splint to a dental guard to a nocturnal bite plate.
How a Night Guard Works
A night guard works by creating a physical barrier between your teeth, which protects them from the wear and tear caused by grinding and clenching. Night guards are typically made of soft material, so they are comfortable to wear and allow you to breathe easily. Most people grind their teeth at night find that wearing a night guard helps reduce bruxism symptoms.
Why You Should Choose the Correct Teeth Guard
To Avoid a Change in Your Bite
The purpose of a nightguard is to protect your teeth and bite from grinding against each other. Hence it is typically custom-made. Sports mouthguards aren’t built to conform to your bite because they’re soft and made of a bulkier rubbery material. The brain interprets softer material as food, causing you to chew as you sleep. Wearing a sports mouthguard at night can cause your bite to change over time. You’ll notice the shift in your bite after a while.
To Safeguard Against Plaque Development
Despite their similar-sounding titles, a sports mouth guard isn’t a device intended to prevent teeth grinding and clenching. A sports mouth guard will not act as a great night mouth guard. It is designed to protect the teeth and gums against blunt force injuries. A sports mouth guard traps bacteria on the gums while you sleep since saliva can’t get to your gums. Saliva neutralizes acids and removes food particles from the mouth to prevent plaque development. To avoid hurting your teeth, it is best to consult an oral hygiene specialist while purchasing a nightguard. Consider that certain nightguards have openings that allow saliva into your mouth. Your dentist will give you the proper design, considering the shape of your teeth.
Importance of Using a Night Guard
Protect Your Teeth From Damage
Teeth grinding happens when you’re not in control. Thus the more you do it, the more enamel you lose. Over-sensitivity is caused by enamel degradation. As a result, hot or cold drinks and meals may be too much for your mouth to handle. In addition, without the protection of enamel, your teeth are more susceptible to decay. It is possible to have infections if the decay reaches the tooth’s strong enamel. A weak tooth can be fractured and any fillings worn out by teeth grinding.
On the other hand, clenching and grinding put undue stress on the teeth’s surface, which cannot be sustained. Because of this, the tooth breaks or cracks. Tooth fractures cause not only extreme agony but also necessitate multiple visits to the dentist. Even if your dentist can fix a cavity with a filling, you may require more extensive treatment, such as a crown, root canal, or tooth extraction. Bridges and implants are two options for replacing missing teeth.
Safeguard Against TMJ
An essential part of chewing depends on the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Using your TMJ to clench your teeth while you sleep might lead to misalignment. TMJ dysfunction occurs due to a jaw that is out of place. Pain in and around the ear, as well as headaches, are all symptoms of this condition. You may end up in the emergency room if your jaw becomes stuck open or shut. The disorder cannot develop if you wear a nightguard since it relieves muscle strain.
Save Your Money
Wearing a night guard is also economical. Many people grind their teeth while sleeping and don’t know they do it. They get all their dental work done at once, which is especially expensive if they’re fitted for dentures or crowns. Fixing broken teeth with a filling requires multiple visits to your dentist’s office, so it is much more costly than wearing a guard that you only have to buy once. To make matters worse, those who get crowns sometimes experience complications that require root canals or extraction of additional parts of their mouth; fortunately, these consequences are rare in those who wear night guards.
Prevent Chronic Neck and Head Aches
Not wearing a night guard will increase your risk of headaches and severe neck pain. If your condition worsens, you may also develop TMJ arthritis or a cyst that causes recurring pain. Your physician might prescribe drugs or suggest surgery. They could also recommend wearing a night guard to ensure your jaw is aligned while sleeping, which will help prevent future damage.
Conclusion
With this info, teeth grinding shouldn’t bother you anymore. Save your money, time, and smile today with custom-made night guards for your teeth!