The benefits of a Dental Nightguard

More and more these days, I routinely see patients with severely worn and abraded teeth. While there are numerous causes of tooth wear (such as acidic diet, aggressive brushing, etc.) the most common cause is clenching and grinding of the teeth. As the stresses in our lives increase, we often find ourselves taking it out on our teeth.

When people get stressed, they often tense their jaw muscles and clench/grit/grind their teeth, thereby exerting abnormal and unnatural forces on their teeth and supporting jaw structures. This clenching and grinding will tend to wear the teeth down, making them shorter, more brittle, and more sensitive to hot and cold foods. Patients will sometimes even break fillings and crowns due to severe grinding.

In addition to the teeth problems that clenching and grinding causes, another harmful effect is tension headaches and problems with the TMJ (the hinge-joint that opens and closes the jaw). Oftentimes patients that experience clenching and griding will have clicking and/or popping of their TMJ, due to overworking and overstressing the joint.

All of these problems can usually be prevented by prophylactic and consistent use of a Dental Nightguard. The main function of a dental nightguard is to protect the teeth from the damaging forces of clenching and griding. This device also alleviates the stresses on the TMJ, thereby minimizing clicking/popping and relieving morning tension headaches.

The best Dental Nightguards are ones fabricated professionally by dentists working with dental laboratories. Over-the-counter nightguards purchased online are not recommended, due to the general poor fit and lack of proper occlusal calibration. A professionally made Dental Nightguard truly is the best insurance policy to ensure the health and longevity of your teeth for a lifetime!

Give our office a call to schedule your Nightguard impressions today!