Do you find yourself clenching your teeth when you’re stressed? When you wake up, do you feel jaw pain or deal with morning headaches? You may experience teeth clenching and grinding, also known as bruxism. Bruxism is highly painful and can damage teeth over time. However, wearing a custom-made professional nightguard can provide preventative care against tooth damage, jaw damage, and orofacial pain from continuous clenching and grinding. We offer professional nightguards for patients in our Baltimore, MD, office to stop facial and jaw pain, dental injuries, and even headaches.
When Do You Need a Nightguard?
If you have bruxism, you will need to wear a custom nightguard. It’s good to know about the symptoms that accompany bruxism, so you know when it’s time to see a dentist for a nightguard. If you have bruxism, you may also experience:
- Morning headaches and migraines
- Jaw and tooth pain
- Tooth sensitivity
- Pain biting and chewing
- Neck and shoulder pain
Contact our dental office if you have noticed any of these symptoms. Sometimes it can be difficult to know if you have bruxism because many patients clench and grind their teeth unconsciously during sleep. It is also important to visit the dentist every six months so we can look for signs of bruxism, including areas of wear in the smile.
TMJ Nightguards in Baltimore, MD
We can create custom acrylic nightguards from accurate impressions of the smile. After we take the dental impression, we send it to a dental lab. Lab technicians create the nightguard from hard, durable acrylic. Acrylic stops patients with bruxism from chewing on their nightguard and exacerbating their jaw pain. Once the nightguard is complete, we make sure that it fits properly. We will make slight adjustments to the nightguard until the teeth make proper contact with the acrylic. If the teeth are not balanced when biting down, this improper fit can lead to bruxism recurring.
When your nightguard is not in use, keep it safe in its case. You can use a mouthguard soak to clean the nightguard and run hot water on the nightguard before placing it on your teeth. In addition to nightguards, we will recommend physical therapy for bruxism. During physical therapy, you learn the best exercises to release tension in your face, jaw, arms, shoulders, and neck.
Address Bruxism Today
Do you think you may have bruxism? Are you looking for a dentist that provides custom nightguards? Call Cosmetic and Advanced Dentistry for a nightguard at (410) 697-6290 or request a dental appointment with us online.