How Night Guards Protect Your Smile from Teeth Grinding
Do you wake up with terrible headaches and a sore jaw? Are your teeth flattened and worn down? If so, you may be in the habit of grinding your teeth. , or teeth grinding, is when you unconsciously grind your teeth during sleep. Teeth grinding can damage your teeth and jaw, which is why it’s important to schedule an appointment with a Columbus dentist as soon as possible.
One of the best ways to combat grinding your teeth at night is by wearing a night guard. A night guard is a mouthpiece you wear while you sleep that protects your teeth from the dangers of bruxism. They will prevent you from doing any damage to your teeth or jaw from teeth grinding during sleep.
What is Bruxism?
Bruxism is the technical term for grinding your teeth. Most often, the grinding is done unconsciously, so you might not even be aware that you have this issue. Regardless of whether you’re aware of grinding your teeth or not, bruxism is a potentially dangerous condition to have.
Grinding your teeth can lead to countless problems such as:
- Headaches
- Tooth pain
- Jaw soreness
- TMJ disorder
- Tooth damage (chipped teeth, fractures, loose teeth, etc.)
- Earaches
- Neck pain
The force exerted from teeth grinding overworks your jaw muscles and causes you to wake up feeling sore. The muscle tenderness from your jaw, teeth, and neck all contribute to your headaches. If the damage is severe enough, you may need to get crowns, veneers, or other restorations to fix your teeth. Dental night guards will not only lessen your symptoms but will also save you money in the long run.
Why Night Guards Are Important
Night guards are one of the best ways to stop nighttime teeth grinding. Your family dentist will simply take an impression of your teeth, send them to a lab, and have a night guard specifically designed for you. Night guards work by forming a protective barrier between your upper and lower teeth. Wearing your dental night guard while you sleep will prevent teeth grinding and the need for future dental restorations.
A teeth grinding mouth guard will also help get rid of the headaches you’ve been experiencing as well as any pain or discomfort from your jaw or teeth. Night guards will overall improve the quality of your sleep and help you wake up feeling refreshed instead of groggy and in pain.
Teeth grinding is a hard habit to kick, especially if you’re under a lot of stress. Night guards can help you prevent teeth grinding symptoms so you can get a good night’s sleep. Reach out to your dentist to talk about getting a night guard to help relieve your symptoms.
Night guards are different from other mouth guards in a variety of ways. For example, sports mouth guards are generally more bulky and flexible than night guards because they’re meant to protect your teeth from the trauma of another person or ball impacting your face. Because night guards are designed to be worn for longer periods of time, you should be able to breathe easily.
Call Our Dentist in Columbus, OH
Dr. Gibson DDS and his team at Gibson Dental strive to help patients maintain beautiful healthy smiles. If you suspect you have , schedule an appointment with our Columbus family dentist at (614) 878-9562.
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