Reasons Why You Might Need Dental Night Guards
If you find yourself waking up with a painful jaw, a migraine, or toothache, you may have a case of bruxism. Bruxism is a medical condition in which you grind, gnash, or clench your teeth unconsciously during sleep. When this happens, you may need the help of a dental night guard. A dental night guard is a soft dental tool inserted inside the mouth and worn throughout the night to help prevent teeth grinding, and stop the negative effects it can have on your oral health.
How Bad is Teeth Grinding?
Often, teeth grinding is considered as a minor inconvenience more than an oral health hazard. Though very common, dental professionals still wouldn't consider teeth grinding on a regular basis ideal for your oral health. Extreme cases of bruxism can lead to serious dental issues, such as requiring early dentures.
Though rare, consistent teeth grinding can lead to bone loss around the roots of your teeth, receding gums, jaw joint disorders, frequent headaches, tooth cracking and even tooth loss. Because of these dental injuries, it’s important to recognise whether or not you do suffer from teeth grinding, and how bad it is. This is so that you can address the problem quickly and prevent the need to go to an emergency dentist.
Teeth Grinding Symptoms
Since teeth grinding occurs mostly during your sleep, you may be unaware that you have a problem, or be unaware of the severity of it, and this may cause you to ignore the problem, and not to seek help. However, there are symptoms to look out for that may indicate you experience bruxism. These include:
- Sensitive teeth
- Tooth pain
- Indents on tongue
- Cheek tissue damage
- Earaches
- Jaw tenderness
- An aching face
If you suffer from any of these symptoms and you suspect that you’re grinding your teeth at night, you need to go to the dentist so they can examine your jaw and mouth, and suggest treatments like dental night guards to address the problem.
Custom Dental Night Guards
If your dentist diagnoses you with bruxism, they will recommend custom-made night guards for you to wear when you sleep. Not unlike an athletic mouth guard, dental night guards prevent further tooth damage caused by jaw clenching and teeth grinding. These custom dental guards are fitted to your unique bite, and can be made from different materials such as vinyl, acrylic, or light-cured composite. A custom-fit dental guard is effective preventive care, so your teeth won’t chip and crack, and your jaw muscles won’t experience undue stress.
Protect your teeth with a custom-fit night guard from Naenae Dental
Naenae Dental Clinic makes custom night guards that will fit your bite, so you can have better sleep. We start by taking a digital scan of your teeth, which will then be imported into an innovative designing software that allows us to 3D print a replica of your teeth.
This moulding technology allows us to create a custom fit unique to your teeth and save them from the effects of teeth grinding. Book a consultation with Naenae Dental Clinic, home of best dentists Wellington has to offer.