Is It Worth Investing in Bite Guards?

Is It Worth Investing in Bite Guards?

Dec 01, 2021

Bite guards are dental appliances worn over the teeth to protect them from injury, bruxism, and any sporting activity. Bite guards are generally fabricated for the top teeth. However, if you wear braces or any other fixed dental appliance on your lower jaw, your dentist can make a bite guard for your lower teeth.

When shopping around for bite guards, you come across different varieties available over-the-counter and from dentists. The ease of availability and the lower prices at which bite guards are available over-the-counter may encourage you to invest in them without determining whether the appliance is suitable for your specific needs. Therefore you must seek appropriate advice from a professional to decide which bite guard provides excellent protection to your teeth and mouth.

Whether investment in bite guards is effective or not depends on how much you care for your dental health and the appearance of your smile. For example, if you are affected by a temporomandibular joint disorder, you benefit from wearing a bite guard for TMJ designed by your dentist. The dental appliance helps relieve the persistent pain you experience in your jaw, cheeks, ears, et cetera to make it easier to manage the condition. However, you must invest in a bite guard created by your dentist cannot depend on over-the-counter products.

Are Bite Guards Effective?

Bite guards fitting your teeth and mouth accurately and created from durable, high-quality plastics are effective in protecting your teeth from injuries when involved in contact sports such as boxing, football, ice hockey, basketball, lacrosse, and field hockey. However, if you participate in non-contact sports like gymnastics, skateboarding, or mountain biking, you benefit by contacting the Highland Village dentist, who will likely recommend purchasing customized mouth guards in Highland Village to protect your oral cavity.

Why must you invest in customized appliances when cost-effective appliances are available over-the-counter from drugstores or sports goods stores? If you want an effective protective guard against issues like TMJ disorders or injuries from sporting activity, invest in a high-quality dental appliance explicitly customized for your mouth by the dentist after taking measurements and fitting you out. However, bite guards in Highland Village, TX, will likely cost you more than ill-fitting over-the-counter mouth guards available as ready-to-wear appliances over your teeth.

If you are interested in low-cost dental appliances, you can go ahead and contact any drugstore or online retailer for stock mouthguards or boil and bite mouthguards available with them at affordable prices. However, you must remember the appliances aren’t created for your mouth and are marketed as a one-size-fits-all all category. Stock mouthguards are challenging to adjust because they are bulky and make breathing and talking difficult while providing little or no protection.

Another variety available over-the-counter is the boil and bite mouthguard created from a thermoplastic material that you must customize for your teeth. Boil and bite mouthguards need boiling in water before placing on your teeth and shipping them around your teeth using finger pressure. These mouth guards offer better protection than stock mouthguards but are not as durable as the appliances created by dentists.

You can purchase customized bite guards in Highland Village, TX, where the appliance is created in a dental office or dental laboratory according to the dentist’s instructions. The dentist takes impressions of your teeth and mouth to create a customized bite guard specifically for you using high-quality material. Custom-made bite guards are expensive but offer you optimal comfort and protection. Therefore investing in a high-quality product is essential if you want to benefit from the effectiveness of bite guards to protect your teeth.

Benefits of Mouth Guards

Mouthguards benefit you in several ways by protecting your teeth from impacts and injuries during contact or non-contact sporting activity and many other dental problems that may affect you during your life. For example, TMJ disorders affect many people, and dentists routinely recommend bite guards for TMJ as a remedy to alleviate their discomfort. Bite guards are also beneficial for people affected by sleep apnea. The appliance helps keep the lower jaw in a forward position preventing the collapse of their throat muscles from preventing airflow. Bruxism is another problem affecting many people and damaging their teeth. Teeth grinding and clenching is a particular characteristic of bruxism that these people with chipped and broken teeth besides other dental infections. Mouthguards help people affected by bruxism to keep their upper and lower jaw apart to prevent the grinding and clenching besides the damages associated with the habit.

Mouthguards are beneficial in several ways, depending on why you want them. However, if you consider investing in a dental appliance to protect your teeth and mouth, we suggest you make sufficient inquiries before purchasing any product displayed in drugstores or online advertisements if you want to make a worthwhile investment in the appliance.

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