Home – Night Guard
Your dentist may recommend the use of a splint that goes over your teeth at night. This is called by various names, a grinding guard, night guard, sleep guard, or occlusal splint.
Grinding guards or night guards may be prescribed as compulsory after some types of restorative treatment to ensure a stable bite and lasting results. For example, if you have been recommended to get a crown, (link to crown) you may also find that a night guard is recommended to protect the new surface.
Your dentist may recommend the use of a splint that goes over your teeth at night. This is called by various names, a grinding guard, night guard, sleep guard, or occlusal splint.
Dental grind guard or night guards may be prescribed as compulsory after some types of restorative treatment to ensure a stable bite and lasting results. For example, if you have been recommended to get a crown, (link to crown) you may also find that a night guard is recommended to protect the new surface.
A night guard is commonly needed to protect the teeth because your jaw muscles are incredibly strong and can produce forces that damage your teeth as you sleep without you being aware of it overnight.
The jaw exerts a huge amount of pressure on the teeth. When testing 1000 people on their bite, Scientific American reported:
“171 pounds [of pressure] for the molar teeth and much less for bicuspids and incisors. Out of the one thousand persons, seventeen developed a force equal to the full registry of the instrument, which was 275 pounds.”
Grinding is often experienced while you sleep and is therefore largely unconscious. Over time teeth are damaged by tooth-on-tooth abrasion and can become cracked, chipped or fractured.
The purpose of a nightguard is to relieve the force that your teeth place on each other, to prevent deterioration. In the case of grinding, prevention is always less costly than cure. It’s definitely the case that sometimes teeth are unrestorable from this kind of damage.
Finding out if you do grind is a little tricky if you live alone. Here’s some of the common symptoms:
If any of these symptoms are present, please follow up at your next six montly checkup or call us on 03 9568 0222 to make sure that you don’t leave this question unanswered.
Many people have needed to have thousands of dollars of restorative work because of grinding.
While each case is individual, it is worth discussing any discomfort you have overnight that might be associated with grinding at your next check up.
Bruxism is common and is caused by overactive muscles. The action can be habit and / or caused by a musculoskeletal issue.
Unfortunately once your teeth are worn they don’t regenerate so the first solution is to protect what you have and prevent further damage with a grinding guard.
In addition, we recommend that you see a clinical myotherapist or physiotherapist as part of a holistic approach to reducing the incidence your bruxism, and addressing the root cause.
A night guard or grinding guard is taken from an impression to ensure it comfortably fits your teeth. For a heavy grinder, the guard may need to be made of a thicker material or replaced more frequently.
As a rule of thumb, you can expect to gain 2-3 years of use, with a need to renew them as the guard wears or your teeth change over time.
We focus on providing the best possible care for all your family and it may be that you have noticed that your child grinds.
Most kids will grind a little but as many changes occur grinding guards are not usually considered worthwhile so we don’t recommend them. However, if grinding is occurring it is important to let us know so that we can keep an eye on it.
Airway obstruction, fast changing jaw size, bite pattern and teeth come and go, and discomfort is a strong factor in whether your child will truly benefit from the guard as they are growing.
Once their adult teeth are present, a grinding guard may become viable, and this can be assessed at their routine 6 monthly check up.
Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks.
Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
We acknowledge that Chadstone Dental is on the Traditional Lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong peoples of the East Kulin Nations and pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. We honour and respect the cultural heritage, customs and beliefs of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded