Clenching or grinding your teeth during sleep is pretty common among children and adults. However, this becomes a matter of concern if it leads to headaches, tooth or jaw pain, or damage to your teeth. You may be suffering from a condition called bruxism. It is best to seek dental care and discuss the symptoms with your dentist.
Our renowned dentist in Greenbelt, MD, offers advanced diagnosis and treatment options to treat bruxism, thereby improving your quality of life. They may recommend a night guard to protect your teeth from damage.
What is bruxism?
Bruxism is defined as a condition that is characterized by habitual clenching or grinding of your teeth. This can happen while you are asleep (sleep bruxism) or awake (awake bruxism), leading to an array of symptoms.
Common signs of sleep bruxism include:
- Chipped teeth
- The presence of faucets on the occlusal surfaces of the molars
- Sleep disturbances
- Waking up with a severe headache
- TMJ disorder- jaw tenderness due to constant clenching of the teeth
- Extreme tooth sensitivity
- Gum disease
What are night guards?
Night guards are plastic dental appliances that are designed to fit securely around your teeth. These are made up of clear or transparent plastic; thus, it does not pose any cosmetic concerns.
Night guards are either available in the market or fabricated by your dentist. The guards provided by your dentist are the most preferred since they are of high quality, yielding better results.
How do night guards help?
Night guards are excellent therapeutic aids that help in the following ways:
- Prevent damage
- Night guards help prevent damage to the tooth and soft tissues by acting like shock absorbers to distribute the forces.
- Ease discomfort
- Bruxism can lead to severe strain on facial muscles. This leads to headaches and tooth or jaw pain.
- Prevent TMJ disorder
- TMJ pain is a classic sign of bruxism that can be debilitating.
How are night guards customized?
The procedure is as follows:
- Your clinical symptoms will be evaluated, and a dental exam will be performed to assess the severity of bruxism.
- Your dentist will thoroughly clean your mouth to remove any plaque or debris.
- A full mouth impression of your upper and lower jaw will be recorded and sent to the lab.
- A customized night guard will be fabricated.
- Your dentist will provide all the necessary instructions about the usage of the night guard.
- You are expected to use the night guard every night for the desired period of time as instructed by your dentist.
- Regular follow-up visits are essential to evaluate the effect of night guard.
Conclusion
Night guards are excellent, cost-effective dental appliances that can greatly provide symptomatic relief from bruxism and prevent further damage.
