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 night guard can provide protection against tooth damage, jaw damage, and orofacial pain from continuous clenching and grinding. We offer professional night guards for our patients in our Baltimore, MD, dental office to stop facial and jaw pain, dental injuries, and even headaches.
What Are Custom Night Guards?
Grinding or clenching your teeth at night is a problem some people suffer with. Bruxism can cause a range of issues, including headaches, facial and jaw pain, damage to your teeth, as well as overall discomfort. Thankfully, one of the most common treatments for bruxism is the use of a custom night guard.
Custom night guards fit securely and comfortably over your upper or lower teeth while you sleep. Not only do they protect your teeth from the grinding and clenching, they also prevent the muscles in your jaw from becoming overworked and tense.
However, not all night guards are the same. To treat and protect your teeth from bruxism effectively, you need to make sure that you get a custom night guard from a reputable dentist. We make custom night guards from a mold of your teeth, which means that they provide a precise fit and better overall comfort. They also provide superior coverage than non-custom night guards, meaning they will protect your teeth better during overnight grinding and clenching.
When Do You Need a Night Guard?
If you have bruxism, you will need to wear a custom night guard to help alleviate the symptoms and stop tooth damage. It’s good to know about the symptoms that accompany bruxism, so you know when it’s time to see a dentist for a night guard. 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.
Getting a custom night guard fitted isn’t as difficult as you might think. All you need to do is visit our local family dental office. We can take a precise mold of your teeth and use this data to create a custom appliance specifically for you.
Once you receive your custom night guard, you’ll need to make sure you care for it properly. This includes rinsing it before and after each use, and storing it in a secure case when not in use. You should also check it regularly for any signs of tears, chips or cracks that could cause it to be less effective.
TMJ Night Guards in Baltimore, MD
We can create custom acrylic night guards from accurate impressions of your mouth. After we take the dental impression, we will send it to our dental lab. There, our lab technicians will create the night guard from hard, durable acrylic. Acrylic stops our patients with TMJ issues from chewing on their night guard and adding to their jaw pain.
Once the night guard is complete, we will make sure that it properly fits your mouth. If necessary, we will make slight adjustments to the night guard until the teeth make proper contact with the acrylic. If the teeth do not properly connect when biting down, this improper fit can lead to recurring bruxism.
When your night guard is not in use, keep it safe in its case. You can use a mouthguard soak to clean the night guard and run warm water on the night guard before placing it on your teeth. In addition to night guards, we may also recommend physical therapy for TMJ disorders. During physical therapy, you will learn the best exercises to release tension in your face, jaw, arms, shoulders, and neck.
Request a Night Guard Appointment Today
Do you think you may have bruxism? Are you looking for a dentist that provides custom night guards? If you suffer from bruxism and want to try a non-invasive, cost-effective and comfortable treatment, consider getting a custom night guard. Not only will it protect your teeth, it will also help alleviate any discomfort and headaches associated with the condition. Call Cosmetic and Advanced Dentistry for a night guard at (410) 697-6290 or request a dental appointment with us online.