Night Guards & Mouth Guards for Sustained Teeth Protection
The biggest benefit and central reason for wearing mouth guards is to protect your teeth. While ten to fifteen years ago, it was unusual to see people skiing and bicycling with helmets regularly, it is become more and more common practice to wear this protective gear. And so it goes for mouth guards and athletics; we are starting to see more and more people place a high value on protecting their teeth and mouth from harm. Mouth guards offer an extra buffer between whatever is threatening damage and they can be especially important to consider if you have traditional braces or a retainer.
The biggest benefit to wearing a night guard is the protection it offers your teeth when you are sleeping. It is easy to change habits and alter behavior when you are awake, but while you are sleeping, one of the only ways to prevent clenching your teeth and grinding your teeth against each other is the night guard. Night guards are one of the effective ways to treat TMJ/TMD and Bruxism. Night guards also prevent more significant issues from developing, like chipped or cracked teeth. Those issues require follow up dentistry procedures, such as dental crowns, dental bonding, or veneers, so night guards offer a way to prevent a these concerns before they develop.
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1426 Commonwealth Dr. Suite A, Wilmington, NC 28403
Night Guards
Night guards are specially designed dental appliances to prevent patients from grinding their teeth or clenching their teeth while they sleep. A night guard is used to stop further damage to the teeth. The people who benefit the most from using night guards are people who commonly experience headaches upon waking and general jaw pain. Sometimes, people even have other types pain in their mouth, neck, jaw, or shoulders that does not have any other specific origination. Clenching your teeth or grinding your teeth while you sleep is usually symptom of a more serious issue like TMJ, TMD, or Bruxism. More often than not, the grinding or clenching action does not wake a person up, so most people are unaware of their behavior until another person witnesses and reports it. And clenching and grinding of your teeth may be disruptive to your partner’s sleep as much as or more than it is disruptive to your sleep.
In addition to being a source of pain and discomfort, nightly teeth grinding and clenching can cause serious damage to your teeth. Night guards can help prevent eventual deterioration of your jawbone, as well as negative effects on your other teeth. Fortunately, night guards are easy to talk to the dentist about and eve easy to have a custom made one to keep you comfortable and sleeping better than you have without it. In our office we customize your appliance to have a bite that is in harmony with your muscles and joint to have maximum benefit.
Mouth Guards
Mouth guards are specially designed dental appliances to support athletes while they are participating in their sport to reduce the risk to their teeth and gums. It is common to see college and professional football players and hockey players wearing mouth guards to protect their teeth from the more dangerous aspects of those higher contact sports. But mouth guards can be used by any athlete to reduce the level of physical harm to their teeth and gums when they are at an increased risk. It is easy to ignore or overlook your mouth when you are preparing yourself for a quick athletic adventure. Some even may consider mouth guards unnecessary, but athletes who use mouth guards are less likely to suffer oral injuries compared to those who do not. When you consider how expensive and time consuming dental work can be, protecting your teeth and gums from harm seems like an easy step in preventative care. When you want to choose the correct mouth guard for you, important factors to consider are comfort, resilience, level of maintenance and cleaning required, and allowing for you to speak and breathe easily.
Proper Night Guard Maintenance
Once you have invested in a custom made night guard or mouth guard and are taking care to wear it regularly, there are some suggestions to follow so you can avoid spreading disease or infection.
You should:
- Brush your guard with toothpaste regularly
- Wash your hands before you touch your guard to prevent the spread of bacteria
- Allow your guard to dry before you store it to prevent the growth of bacteria
- Use an antibacterial solution to quickly rinse your guard
You should not:
- Smoke while wearing your guard
- Soak your guard in rubbing alcohol
- Drink anything other than water while wearing your guard
Your night guard or mouth guard does wear down so it will need to be replaced from time to time. If you think it may be time to replace or upgrade your mouth or night guard, call our office to schedule an appointment.
Interested in other dental serviced we offer such as dental crowns or root canals. Schedule an appointment with our dentists today.
Night Guard & Mouth Guard Costs
Costs for each procedure vary depending on how long the procedure takes, what materials the procedure requires, how many visits the procedure requires, and the amount of work the dentist is required to do. It may surprise you to know, but dental insurance may cover some of the costs for these as well as elective procedures as they lead to improved overall dental health and long term benefits. If you do not have dental insurance coverage or you have any questions about payment options for your treatment plan, you are more than welcome to talk to our staff at any time. Your budget’s health is just as important as your mouth’s health.
High Quality Care You Can Trust
At Edgerton & Glenn Cosmetic and General Dentistry, you are more than just teeth, you are our patient and we want to help you to achieve and maintain oral health as best we can. We look forward to meeting you and talking about what is best for you and your mouth. Please contact us to set up a mouth guard or night guard appointment at (910) 256-9230.
More Information About :
- All on Four Dental Implants
- CEREC Crowns
- Cosmetic Dentistry
- Deep Teeth Cleaning
- Dental Bonding
- Dental Bridges
- Dental Crowns
- Dental Exams
- Dental Implants
- Wilmington NC Dentist
- Dentures
- Family Dentistry
- Full Mouth Reconstruction
- Gum Disease
- Gummy Smile
- Implant Supported Dentures
- Inlay & Onlays
- Invisalign
- Laser Dentistry
- Mouth Guards
- Porcelain Veneers
- Root Canals
- Sleep Apnea
- Teeth Whitening
- TMJ Therapy
- Tooth Extractions
- Tooth Fillings