Do you wake up in pain every morning? Do your jaw and teeth hurt throughout the day? You might be suffering from bruxism—a condition that causes you to grind your teeth in your sleep! The condition is more common than you might think, affecting roughly 10% of adults and 15% of children. Fortunately, you or your child does not have to live in constant discomfort due to something you both have little to no control over! You can minimize the side effects by wearing a nightguard to bed every night. But what does the nightguard do? Let’s find out!
What Is A Nightgard?
A nightguard is a thin tray covering the teeth and gums that looks similar to a clear aligner. Unlike a clear aligner, however, this device’s purpose is not to straighten your teeth or align your jaw. It is meant to keep your two rows of teeth away from each other! Because the tray is custom-made, you will quickly get used to wearing it and not even notice it after a while! Keep reading to find out why a nightguard is a game-changer for people with bruxism!
Protects Your Teeth
When you grind your teeth together, you are slowly shaving your teeth down over time, which can eventually pose problems when chewing. It can even chip or crack your teeth! Your dental work, such as previous crowns or fillings, can become disturbed and harmed, potentially causing you to undergo treatment again.
The grinding also wears down your enamel, the protective covering on your teeth! When it’s gone, it’s gone—you can’t get it back! Without enamel, your teeth are vulnerable to sensitivity and decay, which can be unpleasant and negatively impact your quality of life.
Older patients who suffer from bone loss can even accidentally push their teeth into new homes (teeth are forced to shift).
A nightguard can prevent all of this from happening.
Protects Your Jaw
When you clench and grind your teeth, your TMJ joint has abnormal pressure and tension placed on it. Over time, this can lead to TMD, an uncomfortable and incurable jaw joint disorder. TMD can severely negatively impact your quality of life by making it challenging to chew, talk, and perform oral hygiene. A nightguard can prevent muscle fatigue that leads to TMD and relieve symptoms of TMD if you have already developed it.
Minimize Headaches
Abnormal pressure on the jaw can create neck and head pain, leading to headaches. Once again, a nightguard can minimize this tension and significantly reduce your risk of headaches caused by bruxism.
Better Sleep
Feeling discomfort or pain when you are trying to sleep can keep you from sleeping! When you can’t get comfortable, you are left tossing and turning and looking up articles like this one in an effort to find something, anything, to help you sleep. Being exhausted during the day from lack of sleep at night can—you guessed it—decrease your quality of life. You might be irritable, tired, and unable to concentrate. If you are fatigued enough, you risk putting yourself in dangerous situations (commuting, driving a forklift, making life-or-death decisions—it really depends on your job and distance from said job).
A nightguard can improve your days by helping you sleep better at night by relieving pain.
Saves You Money
Bruxism can lead to expensive, time-consuming dental needs. At Germantown Dental Group, we aim to provide affordable dental care without compromising quality. However, untreated bruxism can create problems that didn’t have to exist in the first place. Wearing a nightguard can eliminate those dental procedures from your future, saving you money that you can put towards other things, like buying new equipment for your hobbies, shopping, or trying new restaurants.
Visit Germantown Dental Group For More Information!
We know that stopping a habit you didn’t even know you had can be tricky, and it’s made more challenging by knowing you’re doing it in your sleep. As your dental experts in Germantown and surrounding areas, Germantown Dental Group has the knowledge and resources to help you treat your bruxism.
Dr. Whittemore and Dr. Gruen can help you make and get a custom night guard that is comfortable yet effective.
Don’t wait for your bruxism to cause serious issues. Contact Germantown Dental Group today to start the process of getting your very own night guard. A nightguard is the kind of investment where you will see results very quickly, and you’ll be wondering why you didn’t get one sooner!