What Happens If You Don’t Wear a Night Guard?

Would you consider wearing a night guard if you experienced headaches in the morning, woke up during the night with jaw soreness or noticed some of your teeth are damaged and restorations? You would probably think the problems are a passing matter and will soon be overcome.

You might never think about a night guard because you believe it is similar to mouth guards used by sports persons assuming you don’t need a bulky appliance in your mouth when sleeping. However, are you aware of why the headaches, jaw soreness, or tooth damage affect you? If you don’t, you must consider getting a dental checkup to ascertain the reasons behind the complications you encounter.

When you schedule a consultation with the Hamilton dentist to determine the root cause of the problem affecting you, the dentist examines your mouth and teeth to evaluate the damage and inquiries about your symptoms. For example, if your teeth are severely damaged, it indicates you are affected by bruxism, a severe condition causing you to grind and clench your teeth when sleeping. In such cases, dentists generally recommend wearing a custom-created night guard to prevent damage to your teeth and safeguard them by separating your teeth from contact. They might even suggest dental corrections if tooth damage is severe and suggest reshaping your teeth or crowning them to restore the damage.

What Is a Sleep Night Guard?

A sleep night guard is a dental appliance custom created for your mouth by the dentist to separate your teeth from contact and functions similarly to a sports mouth guard. However, unlike store-bought appliances, the device isn’t bulky or makes breathing difficult.

Dentists suggest a night guard to prevent your teeth from contacting because the teeth grinding affecting you is the reason for your headaches in the morning, waking up unexpectedly in the night, and the root cause of your dental problems. Teeth grinding also causes you to clench your jaw, making you a victim of issues with your temporomandibular joint, resulting in discomfort with the soreness.

Millions of Canadians, including children, are affected by bruxism, causing them to clench and grind their teeth when sleeping or even when awake. Precise reasons for the condition haven’t been identified, although it might result from stress, medication, age, and other medical disorders like Parkinson’s disease, dementia, epilepsy, sleep-related disorders, et cetera.

Why Consider Getting Sleep Night Guards from Dentists?

When suggested night guards in Hamilton, CA, by the dentist, you might wonder why you must purchase a custom-created night guard when you can find numerous over-the-counter devices helpful for separating your teeth. However, have you considered whether the appliances are created explicitly for your mouth? If you haven’t, we suggest you do so immediately because differences between the devices will be evident immediately.

Store-bought mouthguards are created with the theory one size fits all and are available in small, medium, and large sizes. However, the devices cover the top teeth, are bulky to wear, and make it challenging to breathe or speak with the device in your mouth. In addition, with the limited sizes of the devices, you might not find a mouthguard suited to your needs.

One alternative you can consider is a boil-and-bite mouthguard available from drugstores that you must customize for your mouth by boiling it in hot water, putting it over your teeth, and biting down on the device. Although better than stock mouthguards, the boil and bite variety are merely a technique you can consider for a few days to determine whether you must invest in a custom-created device for your teeth.

How Are Night Guards Different from Mouthguards?

Night guards differ from mouthguards because, during your consultation, the dentist in Hamilton takes impressions of your mouth, including the upper and lower teeth, to create a mould. The mould is for the dental laboratory to custom-create your personalized night guard. After fabrication, you receive the device in about a week when the dentist checks whether the night guard fits your teeth comfortably to prevent them from contact when sleeping. Next, dentists verify the night guard functions appropriately, requesting follow-up appointments and providing you with a custom case for the appliance for storage when not using it.

Dentists-created custom night guards and mouthguards are efficient in preventing tooth damage from sporting activities and bruxism that might need significant investments in tooth repair. Therefore if you are affected by bruxism, you risk severe damage to your teeth and might need restorations like dental crowns or other treatments if you decide not to wear a custom-created night guard for protection.

Rymal Family Dental provides customized night guards for bruxism, besides mouthguards for sporting activities. Therefore, if you are experiencing symptoms described earlier in this article, consider getting a customized night guard explicitly for you from this practice.