A night guard is a special type of mouth guard that is used to treat bruxism, or teeth grinding and clenching. Essentially, night guards are molded mouth guards that help lessen the impact of clenching and/or grinding that occur specifically while you’re asleep and sometimes they reduce the frequency of clenching / grinding as well. Think of the mouth guards that boxers usually wear in the ring, but thinner and shaped to conform to the individual grooves of your teeth. If our dentist or team suspect that you suffer from bruxism, we may recommend a night guard to protect your teeth from damage and prevent teeth grinding. Many people who suffer from bruxism are unaware of the condition because it occurs while they sleep. Common signs of nighttime teeth clenching and grinding include:

• Chronic jaw pain, facial pain and ear pain
• Awakening with a tired or tight feeling in the jaw
• Frequent tension headaches and migraines
• Excessive tooth wear, leading to chipped, flattened, cracked or very worn teeth
• Extremely worn tooth enamel, exposing the inner layers of the tooth
• Indentations on the side of the tongue
• Increased tooth sensitivity
• Night guards cushion the rows of your teeth to reduce tension in your jaw when teeth grinding occurs as well as to preserve the healthy tooth enamel that usually gets chipped away. There are several different designs for the night guards; they can be made for upper or lower teeth. And they can be made with hard or soft plastic, depending on the issue at hand and the anatomy of the mouth.

Night guards are to be worn typically every night to reduce the issues that come from bruxism. Since the night guards are crafted specifically to fit your teeth, you shouldn’t feel any discomfort with regular use.