Category: Bite Guards

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.

The problem of bruxism which causes people to grind and clench their teeth is a pretty common condition that causes pain and is destructive to the teeth. Thankfully options in the form of nightguards are available on the market for anyone who grinds or clenches their teeth while sleeping.

The problem of bruxism is quite common and many people may not even be aware of the grinding they are indulging in. They usually wake up with dull headaches, face pain, soreness in the jaw and fatigue because the condition disrupts sleep. It also causes the partner of the individual to hear the grinding on many occasions.

When the grinding takes place occasionally it does not cause any major concerns but if it’s a regular habit it can potentially cause loss of teeth, loss of tooth enamel and broken teeth. The precise reason for this condition is not known but a belief exists that stress and anxiety have a role to play besides the use of alcohol, caffeine, smoking, snoring, sleep apnea, crooked teeth or an abnormal bite.

How Can You Get over the Problem of Bruxism?

Discussing the problem with your doctor or your dentist in Highland Village, TX will be a beginning to understand the reasons behind the grinding or the clenching. Your doctor would try to determine if you are suffering from any of the underlying conditions like stress or anxiety before recommending any treatment for bruxism. Your dentist will be looking at your teeth to observe signs of breakages, loss of tooth enamel and any other causes that may indicate you are suffering from this condition. Both would advise you against smoking, consuming excessive caffeine or alcohol or correcting an abnormal bite or crooked teeth with help from an orthodontist. Dentists may also suggest the use of bite guards which can be worn while you sleep. These appliances are also known as night guards, bite splints and nocturnal plate bites.

The appliance functions by putting a barrier between your teeth and when you clench your jaw when sleeping the appliance help to lighten the tension to cushion the muscles of the jaw. The cushioning helps to prevent pain in the face and the jaw and also protects your teeth enamel. The appliance is similar to remedies that have been developed for snoring.

Where Can You Purchase the Appliance?

These appliances can be purchased over the counter from many drugstores or even retail outlets but getting one custom-designed by your dentist will be the better option. Custom made appliances can be fitted differently according to your specific needs and will offer a comfortable fit.

Types of Appliances Available in the Market

You will have no difficulties finding different types of appliances being offered on the market in variances of hard, soft, and dual laminate. Each variety has its pros and cons and trying to find one suitable for your needs will be challenging unless you have adequate knowledge about these products. You must understand that manufacturers of these products haven’t customized the appliances for anyone but go by the dictum of “one size fits all” that may be suitable for some people but unsuitable for your needs. Therefore it is suggested that you rely on the experience of your dentist to provide you a custom made appliance that can appropriately deal with the problem of bruxism.

Getting an opinion from a doctor or dentist is essential before deciding that you are suffering from this problem that can easily be dealt with by either professional. You do not have to remain concerned about the problem as long as you have made an effort to discover the root cause and are searching for a remedy to deal with the same.

Who Is Your Best Bet against Bruxism?

The best chances of overcoming the problem of bruxism lie with your dentist who can provide you bite guards in Highland Village. The dentist can offer you a custom made appliance that could be developed in a dental laboratory after an impression of your mouth is taken for the purpose. The appliance may be just what you need to give your jaw some relief when you sleep because it will help you to stop grinding your teeth at night.

The dentist offering bite guards in Highland Village, TX, will offer you the thinnest possible appliance recommending that you continue wearing it for 4 to 6 weeks until you become accustomed to it. The appliance will feel a lot easier to wear after the specified timeline. The dentist will also offer you tips on how to wear the appliance and care for it after it is removed from your mouth. Over some time you should be free from the problem of bruxism and stop grinding or clenching your teeth altogether.

A bite guard goes by many other names – night guard, mouthguard, night grinding guard, stress guard. No matter the name though, the function is the same: to protect your teeth from getting damaged as a result of teeth grinding. Your dentist at Campbell & Williams Family Dental in Highland Village, TX can provide you with a quality, custom-fitted bite guard to keep your teeth protected.

Which guard is right for you?

There are several types of custom bite guards in Highland Village, TX, and you’ll have to take your needs into consideration with the many options to choose from when selecting one.

• Hard or soft material: Hard acrylic night guards are recommended for moderate to extreme cases of teeth grinding. It is more durable than a soft material, but does not allow for changes to the teeth. This may be a factor if you plan on having dental work done in the near future. Soft night guards, on the other hand, can wear down much faster than hard ones and may even encourage teeth grinding. If you choose a soft material, be aware of the terms of the warranty and pay close attention to any pain in your temporomandibular joint (TMJ).
• Upper or lower: Unless you have missing teeth or are planning on having dental work done that may change your dental anatomy, this choice depends mainly on personal preference. There are also night guards available that are re-moldable and can be formed to the upper or lower teeth.
• Custom or over-the-counter: Custom-fit bite guards made in a dental lab using impressions taken of your teeth are the most comfortable and offer the best protection because they are uniquely fitted to your mouth. However, they take time to make, can be bulky, and are the most expensive option. Bite guards can also be custom-fit without having an impression taken. This type of bite guard is a newer type of technology made from a perforated material that allows water and air to pass through with ease. They are available online or in some drugstores and are more affordable than dental custom-made guards. Over-the-counter bite guards are the most affordable option, but provide the least in terms of comfort and protection.

Avoid toxic materials

When choosing a bite guard to suit your needs, be sure that it is free of hazardous or toxic materials. Substances to be on the lookout for include:

• BPA
• Latex
• PVC
• Phthalates

Always read the label and ask your dentist or dental lab to supply this information if it’s not provided.

No matter what you want to call it, if you need protection from teeth grinding, see your dentist at Campbell & Williams Family Dental in Highland Village, TX to discuss getting a bite guard.