Do You Need to Sleep in a Mouthguard?

dental custom mnight guardsWe often think of mouthguards as oral appliances that are worn by boxers or football players. You may even associate custom mouthguards with teeth whitening. However, a large production of mouthguards each year are specifically designed for adults to wear while they sleep. This isn’t to protect you from your restless bed partner during the night. Instead, dental night guards are to protect you from your own teeth grinding habit.

The Trouble with Nightly Bruxism

Bruxism refers to the grinding or clenching of teeth. While this habit can be performed during the day, teeth grinding most of occurs during nighttime sleep. The pressures exerted on your teeth and jaw joint (TMJ) during bruxism are beyond what your mouth was designed to handle. In result, nighttime teeth grinding can produce a wide range of disruptive symptoms in the daytime.

You may be grinding your teeth at night if you have the following symptoms:

  • Worn down teeth
  • Sore teeth
  • Headaches
  • Jaw pain or soreness
  • Ear pain or dizziness
  • Bite problems
  • Clicking or popping of the jaw
  • Frequent jaw locking

Custom Nightguards in O’Fallon

At Dream Dentist, we have special knowledge and training in treating TMJ problems associated with teeth grinding or clenching while you sleep. Our practice offers the latest, most proven oral appliance therapy to protect your teeth and jaw. While you may not be able to stop your teeth grinding habit after the lights go out, you can start wearing a custom nightguard to avoid the consequences of dental damage and TMJ strain.

Call our O’Fallon dental clinic today to learn more about your options for a custom night guard while you sleep.