Hi, my name is Dr. Alex Matheson from Matheson Dentistry & Implant Center, and I am here to answer some questions that we commonly get about night guards. Who needs a night guard? When should I get a night guard? How do they work? Hopefully, we'll answer some of those questions for you today.
What is a night guard and how does it help protect teeth?
A night guard is a custom-fit orthotic or piece of plastic that fits on your teeth. It's customized to your teeth and helps prevent your teeth from grinding or hitting each other. Typically, at night is when we do a lot of damage to our teeth. It is formed so that your lower back teeth hit it simultaneously, so there's an even bite from one side to the other.
What are the most common reasons someone might need a night guard?
Common reasons for needing a night guard are when people clench their teeth or grind their teeth. Oftentimes that's at night, not always, but a lot of the times that happens at night. If you wake up in the morning and you have sore jaws or if your husband or wife tells you that you grind your teeth at night, then that's the clue that you would need a night guard. Oftentimes we'll start to see on the teeth that the teeth will start to get a little flat on those cusps that are on the back teeth. If you see any flat areas starting to form, or even on the front teeth, any flat areas starting to form, that's a good sign that you're clenching or grinding your teeth at night, and we should probably talk about making you a night guard.
Can a night guard reduce clenching or grinding teeth at night and help with bruxism?
A night guard can definitely help reduce the problems that come from clenching and grinding your teeth, and in some cases, they can help actually prevent or decrease the amount of clenching and grinding that you do. The damage really comes as the enamel of our teeth wears against each other way more than they were made to, because we're clenching and grinding our teeth at night. A night guard is going to help prevent that grinding so you're not wearing your teeth down prematurely.
Can a night guard help with snoring or sleep apnea?
There are night guards that can help with snoring and sleep apnea. Those types of night guards are the ones that have something that not only fits on your upper teeth but also on your lower teeth, and there's a little connection between those two. What they're going to do is pull your lower jaw forward. By pulling your lower jaw forward, that pulls your tongue forward, and if your tongue comes forward, then that's going to open up your airway. The airway between your tongue and your soft palate for people who snore or people that have sleep apnea, the tongue and the soft palate come together and prevent air from flowing into our lungs like it should. A sleep apnea device or a snore guard is going to bring your jaw forward. It's going to open up that airway so that you can breathe more appropriately. Oftentimes people don't have to use a CPAP, which a lot of people don't like to use if you use this type of night guard.
What is a Bruxism night guard and how is it designed for bruxism?
A night guard is going to help prevent teeth grinding or bruxism. Bruxism is another fancy word for grinding your teeth at night. When you wear a night guard, it usually goes on your upper teeth. In some cases, we make it go on the lower teeth, but usually on the upper teeth, and it's just going to hold your teeth apart so that if you are grinding your teeth at night, you're not going to wear down your teeth. You'll wear down the plastic. It's a lot better to wear down the plastic than your enamel.
What is an NTI night guard and when is it recommended?
An NTI night guard is a different type of night guard. Most night guards fit over all of your upper teeth. An NTI night guard is one that will fit just on your front teeth. There are pros and cons with that kind, and if you're curious as to what's the better fit for you, come on in and make a no-cost consultation at our office. You can call (480) 888-8123, and I'd be happy to sit down with you and talk about what's the best kind of night guard in your situation.
Are there specific night guards for teeth grinding versus teeth clenching?
There, a night guard, I feel like that's the same thing, isn't it? It is a little bit different. I guess it's clenching versus teeth clenching. Grinding clenching is just really hard. There are two things that sometimes people do with their jaw at night. One is clench, or you just squeeze really tight on your teeth, and another thing is bruxism or grinding of your teeth, where you're grinding from side to side. Both can be very hard and destructive for your teeth and also cause a lot of pain and discomfort in your jaws and in the muscles that you use to chew with. By making a night guard, that can really help with both of those problems, clenching and grinding of your teeth. If you have any questions about what specifically would be the best for you, give us a call at 480-888-123. I'd be happy to sit down with you to have a no-cost consultation where we can talk about what type of night guard is going to be best for your situation.
How do I know if I need a custom night guard?
There's a couple of different ways to get a night guard. One is to get a customized night guard, which is what we do here at Matheson Dentistry & Implant Center, and then another way is to get one at the supermarket or online. There are pros and cons to each. Obviously, the ones that you're going to get online or at the supermarket will sometimes, I shouldn't say all the time because sometimes they're not, but sometimes they can be a little less expensive. The downside to it is it's not customized to your teeth, and if it's really far off, it can actually cause some problems down the road with your teeth moving and shifting, and that can cause some problems. The nice thing about getting it done here at Matheson Dentistry & Implant Center is that we do custom mouthguards which are going to be customized to the shape of your teeth, your mouth, and help address the situation that you're specifically having with your teeth. If you have any questions about customized mouthguards, don't hesitate to give us a call at (480) 888-8123, and I'd be happy to sit down with you for a no-cost consultation where we could talk about what type of custom mouthguard is best for you.
How do I properly clean a night guard?
We're often asked about cleaning a night guard and what's the right way to clean a night guard. Basically, you want to make sure that it is clean every night. Because it's in your mouth, it can develop plaque and tartar just like you can develop plaque and tartar on your teeth. It's really important that every day when you take it out, you brush it and rinse it off. Every once in a while, maybe once a week, it's good to use those tablets like those effervescent tablets that you might see on commercials for dentures. It's the little tablet that you put in water and it fizzes up. You can do that and put your night guard in there, and that will help prevent a lot of the buildup of tartar and plaque on your night guard, just like it helps prevent tartar and plaque buildup on a denture. It can also help for your night guard. If you're a little concerned about it, if you have it, and it's getting a little ooey-gooey and you can't get it quite clean, feel free to bring it in at your next cleaning, and we'd be happy to give it a professional cleaning here.
How often should a night guard be replaced?
Replacement of a night guard varies greatly between different people. Some people really, really clench and grind their teeth very hard, and so every couple of years, they might need to get a new one because they've ground all the way through it. Some people, it's not that bad, and so it'll last for maybe five to ten years. Everyone's a little bit different, so it's really important to bring your night guard in when you come for your six-month cleaning so we can evaluate it and make sure that there's still a therapeutic benefit from wearing that night guard. I would definitely recommend doing that, bringing it in often, and when it looks like we need to replace it, we can certainly let you know.
Are night guards expensive and does dental insurance cover them?
We're often asked, how much does my night guard cost? That's a good question. It's going to be different for everybody. Oftentimes, dental insurances do pay for part of the night guard, so if you have a question about how expensive this night guard is going to be, and if your insurance covers it, go ahead and make a free no-cost consultation. Call the office at (480) 888-8123, and we'd be happy to sit down and talk to you about what's the best kind of night guard for you, how much it's going to cost, and if we can make this affordable for you.
Can children or teens use night guards for teeth grinding or clenching?
Oftentimes, children and teenagers will have problems with teeth grinding at night as well, and we can certainly make night guards for them also. Most of the time, the problems with pain come in our later years, as we're an adult, but it can sometimes happen with children too, and we can definitely make night guards for children here at Matheson.
How can I get my child to stop grinding their teeth?
If you're like me and you walk into your kids' room at night, sometimes you've heard them clenching and grinding their teeth, and that sound just grates on your nerves. It is hard to be able to make your children stop grinding their teeth at night. That's a central nervous system function, and you can't always get them to stop grinding their teeth. But what you can get stopped is the damage that comes to their teeth because of teeth grinding. We can make night guards here at Matheson Dentistry & Implant Center for children so that they're not grinding their teeth and they're not doing damage to their teeth, even though they are grinding their teeth at night.
What should I do if my night guard causes discomfort or doesn't fit properly?
If you get a night guard that is not fitting well, it's hurting, maybe after you wear it for a while, we want to make sure that it's well fitting. I'm going to start that one over, that sound. What should I do if my night guard causes discomfort or doesn't fit properly? If you have a night guard and it's causing discomfort or it's not fitting properly, we want you to definitely give us a call here at Matheson Dentistry & Implant Center because we want you to be able to sleep well, and if you need a night guard, we want that night guard to fit well and we want it not to hurt. Typically, if it's causing pain or discomfort, it's because we haven't fit it properly into your mouth. If you're having those problems, definitely give us a call here at Matheson Dentistry & Implant Center at (480) 888-8123, and we want to make sure that it's appropriately adjusted so that it fits your mouth and you can wear it comfortably at night.
How do brands like Dent or Remy compare to professional dental night guards?
There are a lot of non-custom mouthguards on the market like Dent or Remy, and for some people, there can be a benefit to them. The downside is that they're not perfectly customized to you, which can lead to problems later on. If someone wears a night guard for a long period of time and it's not customized, it doesn't fit them appropriately, then it can cause problems with teeth moving and shifting. By making a custom mouthguard here at Matheson Dentistry & Implant Center, it's going to prevent those problems, and you're going to be able to wear it with less discomfort and with more therapeutic value.
I hope I was able to answer some of those questions you know that will. All right, I hope I've answered some of your questions that you've had about night guards. If you have any other questions about night guards or you think that a night guard is right for you, please give us a call here at Matheson Dentistry & Implant Center at (480) 888-8123. I'd be happy to sit down with you for a no-cost consultation so we can find out what type of night guard is right for you.