Protect your teeth with a custom-fitted dental night guard.
Too often, patients who need dental night guards for nightly teeth grinding don't even realize they have a problem. A custom fitted dental night guard can quickly and effectively relieve your teeth grinding and teeth clenching problems. To permanently eliminate your teeth grinding symptoms, schedule a custom dental night guard consultation with Dr. Shore today.
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If you suspect that you may be suffering from nightly teeth grinding, ask yourself these questions:
Does it seem that the way your teeth fit together is constantly changing?
Do you have teeth that look worn, thin or chipped?
Do you have sensitive teeth?
Does your sleep partner complain of hearing grinding or clicking sounds at night?
Do you have headaches and/or sore jaw muscles?
About Night Guards
What Causes Teeth Grinding and Teeth Clenching?
Chronic teeth grinding is known as bruxism. Untreated bruxism can be extremely damaging to teeth and overall oral health. It may be caused by stress and anxiety, an abnormal bite, missing or crooked teeth, oral sleep apnea or the cause may be unknown. Bruxism can easily result in the fracturing, loosening, or total loss of your natural teeth. In fact, persistent grinding pressures can wear teeth down to stumps, eventually leading to the need for dental bridges, crowns, root canals, implants, and partial or complete dentures. Common teeth grinding warning signs include:
dull headaches
jaw soreness or stiffness
teeth that are painful or loosened
fractured teeth
How Do Dental Night Guards Work?
Dental night guards are oral appliances which are also known as a dental mouth guards or bite guards. Night guards can be used to treat teeth grinding by providing a protective barrier between the upper and lower teeth as you sleep.
Once Dr. Shore determines that you're a good candidate for teeth grinding (bruxism) treatment, she will design and create a custom fitted dental night guard made specifically for your unique bite.
Dental night guards are composed of hard plastic material which fits precisely over one row of your teeth. The bite surface of the night guard is smooth allowing you to move your jaw in any direction comfortably. When your new dental night guard is in place, you can rest confidently knowing that even if you do grind your teeth, they will no longer make contact with each other causing further damage.
If you do grind, the plastic of the night guard will wear slightly over time rather than wearing down your teeth. The appliance will also serve to reduce stress on your jaw joints and supporting muscles to relieve any pain or discomfort associated with TMJ (jaw joint) disorder.
Children's Dental Night Guards for Teeth Grinding
Teeth grinding is actually quite common in children. However, because their teeth and jaws are changing and growing so rapidly, it is not usually a damaging condition. Most children will outgrow the teeth grinding habit by adolescence. We generally do not make night guards until the jaws have stopped growing.
How do I get started?
Dr. Stefanie Shore and her team are proud to offer patients of all ages high-quality dental care that preserves their safety, meets their unique needs, and promotes a warm and friendly atmosphere where they can feel at ease while they receive treatment. Contact our Carmichael dentist office today to schedule an appointment!
