Night Guards (i.e. mouthguards to prevent grinding teeth)

my night guard is made of a hard plastic. it fits perfectly and is very comfortable to wear. the biggest problem we seem to have with it is that when i sleep i drool all over my husband :blush:

what kind of night guard would you recommend?

PS: i know that this has nothing to do with colonoscopies. sorry.

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and BTW: i grind during the daytime as well, and when i asked my dentist if i should be wearing it during the day hours, he said “no.”

It really depends on the specific situation. But my usual “go to” night guard is the Nocioceptive Trigeminal Inhibition (NTI) appliance.

Maybe if I finally get some free time I’ll write an article on night guards (After I finish the perio series and the xDRIP+ articles :sweat:)

what is it about this night guard that makes it different from others?

All dentists are not equal.

I have been said to be a bit particular about my choice of dentist. Neurotic perhaps.

The short description: The NTI covers the four or six lower front teeth, fitting very snugly so it kind of snaps on. On this is a ramp that engages with the upper front teeth in whatever motion the lower jaw takes. This keeps the back teeth, from the cuspid tooth back, from touching. If you can’t clench on your back teeth you won’t damage them or strain your muscles. You can’t put enough pressure on the ramp with your front teeth to cause any damage.

this sounds miraculous and wearing one would keep me from all the pain and expenses of grinding. i am going to mention this to my dentist and see what his reaction is.

Is it a custom fit with the mouth goop?

Yes. It is custom made from an impression of your mouth. Other measurements are required. Or there is a lot that some dentists use with blanks that can be fitted, but they don’t seem to work as well in my hands.

I paid top dollar (we’re talking quite a few hundreds of dollars) for a custom made special premium night guard that I wore all of 1 night. It was too restrictive, didn’t allow me to breath correctly and kept me up all night. The only way people can wear those things is if they can get too, and stay too sleep easily. I already have a difficult enough time getting to sleep. My dentist also said I grind at night, but I don’t believe it. :slight_smile: I never wake up with “sore jaw”, my wife has never seen or heard me do it, but I invested in the mouth guard anyway.

There are diagnostic signs that can tell if you clench or brux. It really does take a compete examination to determine. Most of the patients who I treat with a bruxism splint have pretty obvious pathology. But sometimes it is very subtle.

I would not prescribe a bruxism splint unless I could confidently diagnose a pathology.