What exactly is a nightguard?
First, let's start by explaining exactly what a nightguard is. A nightguard is just a mouthguard that you wear when you sleep. If you've ever seen a nightguard before, people who play contact sports such as football or boxing use a rubber appliance that goes into your mouth and fits snugly over your teeth to protect your teeth.
Why might someone need a nightguard?
The main reason someone might need a nightguard is if they grind their teeth at night, they clench very tightly, or they are having painful jaw issues when they wake up. A nightguard can act as both a barrier to protect your teeth or it can act as a cushioning device to help relieve a lot of tension in your jaw if you clench overnight.
How does a nightguard help with teeth grinding?
If you grind your teeth at night, a nightguard is extremely helpful. When you grind your teeth at night, it is your lower jawbone clenching tightly against your upper teeth and moving back and forth, side to side, or both. Over a prolonged period of time, many months or years, what happens is that your teeth, such as your molars or your incisors, can start to get chipped, abraded, smoothed down, or otherwise damaged.
When you wear a night guard, instead of your natural teeth being ground down, now instead it is the nightguard that is ground down. A lot of the time, your nightguard will actually last a lot longer than your own natural teeth, believe it or not. The rubber is actually smooth, and your teeth can actually glide very smoothly, or rather, your two nightguard pieces, your upper piece and your lower piece, can often glide very smoothly against one another.
How does a nightguard help with clenching and TMJ pain?
A nightguard can also help with clenching of your mouth when you are sleeping. If you ever wake up with painful TMJ issues, pain located right here, or it feels like your jaw muscles are very sore, it's very likely that you need a nightguard to help you with your clenching. How it works is that a nightguard will increase the space between your teeth. This allows the jaw muscles to relax overnight.
On the flip side, it also makes it much harder for your jaw muscles to contract overnight. Think about how you flex your bicep. When you flex your bicep, you bring your wrist or your hand closer together, contracting your bicep. What a nightguard does is it effectively makes your jaw extend out like this, making it much harder to contract.
Do I really need a custom-made nightguard from my dentist?
One of the most common questions we get about nightguards is, "Do I really need to go to my dentist to have one custom-made for me when there are many store-brand options?" The answer is, "It depends." Generally, yes, your custom-made nightguard is far more effective, especially because most of the time when people get nightguards, they're having dental-related issues. If you're clenching, grinding, or have painful TMJ issues, a custom-made nightguard is definitely the way to go.
Why is a custom-made nightguard more effective?
Here's the reason why. A nightguard, to be most effective, needs to be custom-fitted to your teeth and to your anatomy. When a nightguard is custom-made for you, it is physically made to fit precisely around your teeth, and it is also made to have the exact width and height that we need to alleviate pressure in the jaw. These things are not random. These things are not standardized. They need to be specifically made for your teeth, for your anatomy, and to alleviate the tension in your jaw with proper height. These things need to be diagnosed by your dental professional.
How do you clean a custom-made nightguard?
The easiest way to clean your custom-made night guard is to simply do it when you are brushing your teeth at night. When you're brushing your teeth, you can also take your toothbrush and go along the inside and the outside of your nightguard, periodically running it under cold or hot water, whatever you prefer. After that, your nightguard should be sufficiently clean.
How often does a nightguard need to be replaced?
Depending on the severity of your clenching and grinding at night, a nightguard may need to be replaced more often than you think. However, many people do not have to change their nightguard out for many years.
How are nightguards made to work properly?
The way that nightguards are made is that they fit snugly over your teeth, and then the parts that rest against each other during the night are actually flat, so they can glide evenly and smoothly across each other and not cause excess wear.
Will dental insurance cover a nightguard?
If you have dental insurance, there's a good chance that your nightguard may be partially or fully covered at our office.
What is an NTI nightguard?
You may have heard of an NTI night guard, and yes, it is much different than a normal nightguard. An NTI nightguard snaps onto the front of your teeth and actually prevents your molars from touching during the night. If you have severe clenching or TMJ issues, this may be diagnosed and recommended for you to increase the length of your jaw muscles overnight to prevent contraction.
Is there a nightguard option for sleep apnea?
If you have sleep apnea, there is an option for you to get help with a nightguard. It's called a sleep apnea nightguard. These two nightguard pieces are actually connected to each other. Unlike most nightguards that have a separate upper and lower piece, these pieces have those, but they are connected as well.
How a sleep apnea nightguard works is that it actually brings your jaw forward while you're sleeping to create a larger airway. This will make it easier to breathe at night. Often, there's just a rubber band or a tension band connecting the upper mouthguard to the lower mouthguard that will gently bring the jaw forward while you're sleeping.
Nightguards are more than just a protective device. They are a practical dental solution for reducing the harmful effects of teeth grinding and clenching. They relieve jaw tension and manage TMJ discomfort. By creating a custom-fitted barrier that aligns with your natural bite, a nightguard not only protects your teeth but also promotes more comfortable, restorative sleep and overall oral health.
If you’re looking for dental care you can trust, call us at (949) 787-3378 or email [email protected]. Here at Sea Summit Dentistry, our office is designed to fit your schedule.