When a patient is found to be suffering from night grinding or bruxism, dental specialist recommends wearing night guards. A night guard is a removable appliance worn by the patient during sleep to protect his teeth and jaws from the damage that is caused by the habit. There are three types of night guards. A ready-made appliance that comes in standard sizes, the boil and bite appliance and custom made appliance that dentists prefer and commonly prescribe. Custom dental night guards are effective, mostly because how they are fabricated. Custom made night guards are made to fit the patient exactly. This is made possible by taking an impression of the mouth of prescribed patient. Whenever you get your dental night guard, it is always worthwhile to ensure a custom fit. Generic mouth guards even those that can be molded to your teeth before wearing are often thicker and bulkier than custom mouth guards. The additional bulkiness can cause discomfort, difficulty speaking or breathing and may even damage your teeth alignment. Everyone’s mouth is of different shape and size so trying to use a one size fits all mouth guard is unlikely to result in a proper fit. A more comfortable custom fitted dental guard can help you ease the symptoms of bruxism without additional breathing, speaking or sleeping difficulties.
Night Guards For Bruxism
Teeth clenching is tightening of jaw. This exerts a large force between the upper and lower teeth and also strains the jaws muscles. The excessive pressure can cause headaches, ear aches and can lead to joint problems. Whereas, teeth grinding is slightly different from teeth clenching. It is the forceful rubbing of upper and lower teeth repeatedly. The grinding can flatten out the natural grooves of the teeth, weaken the tooth and cause tooth loss. It also causes headaches, stiffness and pain in the jaw. The most common and effective treatment for clenching and grinding during sleep is a custom mouth guard. The mouth guard reduces the amount of pressure that is exerted on the upper and lower jaw. The mouth guards also helps by providing a protective barrier between the upper teeth and lower teeth. Hence, reducing the chance of tooth damage. Therefore, custom mouth guard is an effective solution if you have any of these problems but dentist prescription is must.
Night Guards For Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a condition that occurs when you stop breathing while you are sleeping. Your breathing generally resumes on its own after a few seconds or a few minutes. When you suffer from sleep apnea, you may sleep with your mouth open. When you wake up your mouth is dry and it lacks saliva which your mouth needs to fight bacteria. This can lead to increase of germs in your mouth and tooth decay. To treat sleep apnea you need a mouth guard. It is often effective for correcting loud snoring as well. The mouth piece adjusts the position of your jaw in order to keep airways open during the time when you are sleeping. This means you will have more continuous airflows entering your mouth. Whether a mouth guard is necessary for your sleep apnea depends on the sensitivity of your condition. One of the most obvious benefits of using mouth guard is that it’s compact and portable. There are no machines or masks to deal with such things, so you may find it more comfortable to sleep at night.
Mouth guards are also more discreet which means they are particularly invisible to your partner. Most people experience symptoms relief immediately from mouth night guards.
Claud Crutcher 