The Many Benefits of Mouth Guards and Night Guards

Most people don’t know much about mouth guards and night guards until they need them. They begin to learn about them when a coach recommends a mouth guard for an athlete. Or when a dentist or doctor prescribes a mouth guard or night guard to deal with certain health problems. It’s helpful to know all the ways a mouth guard or night guard could benefit you because knowing actually might help you identify certain problems you are already experiencing.

Snore Guards

When a person snores, they may think this is just something they (or their spouse) have to live with. In fact, a custom snore guard could minimize or even eliminate the problem.

The function of a snore guard is to advance the lower jaw slightly during sleep. This forward motion is accomplished by wearing an oral appliance that fits over the teeth like a retainer. The advancement of the lower jaw helps open the airway and reduce or eliminate snoring. When you receive a custom night guard specifically designed to relieve snoring, then you can receive all the benefit possible from such an appliance. An off-the-shelf guard is not likely to help as much.

When a professional designs and manufactures a custom night guard for you, they take into account your ideal bite. They evaluate the ideal position of your jaw which would then keep the facial, jaw and neck muscles as relaxed as possible. Your tailor-made guard protects the health of all these features while also helping you sleep more calmly and quietly. As you can see, a professional night guard has many benefits over a one-size-fits-all guard from a pharmacy.

Sleep Apnea Snore Guards

Night guards for  sleep apnea  may be similar to snore guards, or they may be more complicated  appliances  that can be adjusted at home by the patient. A custom dental mouth guard specifically for apnea will always provide you with a better result than one that is purchased online or at a pharmacy. Also, a professional, such as a  dentist or sleep specialist, will always take the ideal positions of your jaws, teeth and TMJ into account as they work out how to improve and open your airway.

Teeth-grinding is quite a common problem. The negative effects of this problem may show up in sore, tight muscles in the face and neck. While that could be painful or inconvenient, the real damage shows up in the teeth.

Grinding one’s teeth all night long wears them down. Any dentist has seen patients with teeth that are worn down from years of grinding. In really severe cases, teeth can be worn down almost to the gum line, especially the lower teeth. As the teeth become worn, this can even change the shape of the face because the upper and lower jaws move closer together than they should. This can cause a person to look prematurely old.

Correcting the damage done by years of grinding is very expensive, requiring crowns, veneers, root canals or dentures. It is vastly cheaper to get a custom dental night guard that eliminates this wear and tear.

Athletic Mouth Guards

If your child is taking part in contact sports or very active athletics, they would be wise to wear a custom mouth guard, whether these are required by the athletic organization or not. Some national high school associations only require mouth guards for the following sports:

• Football
• Field hockey
• Ice hockey
• Wrestling (if the person wears braces)

In fact, custom sports mouth guards are advisable for any sport where the teeth may traumatically contact each other or where there is likely to be contact with another player or sports equipment. These guidelines extend the list of sports for which mouth guards are advisable:

• Baseball
• Equestrian events
• Gymnastics
• Racquetball
• Skateboarding
• Skydiving
• Softball
• Squash
• Volleyball
• Weightlifting

A single investment in a custom-fit mouth guard for sports can prevent lost teeth, broken teeth and other injuries. A custom guard will be more comfortable to wear and more secure in the mouth than an off-the-shelf model. Many dentists can provide a sports guard in an array of fun colors as well.

The Difference Between Off-the-Shelf Mouth Guards and Custom Mouth Guards

There are several types of mouth guards and night guards that can be purchased at a local pharmacy. They are usually fit to a person’s mouth by placing the guard in boiling water and then biting down on it after it has a moment to cool. This shapes the guard to the teeth and mouth of the person who will be wearing it. 

There are many differences between off-the-shelf guards and custom guards; these differences highlight the benefits of investing in a professionally-made guard. Here are the advantages to getting a custom guard from a trusted professional:

1. Better fit. An off-the-shelf mouth guard will never fit as securely and comfortably as a custom mouth guard. A professionally-made guard will fit more comfortably because it is tailor-made for your mouth.
   
   
2. Higher-quality materials. The plastics are not the same high quality as ones used in a dental lab. So a store-bought guard may lose its snug fit in just weeks.
   
   
3. Custom designed for your mouth. An off-the-shelf guard may not position your jaws in their ideal positions. This places stress on your temporomandibular joint (TMJ) which would then create constant stress in the muscles of the face and neck during its use. This stress can show up as pain, spasms or headaches. 
   
   
4. Maintains proper position of your teeth. An off-the-shelf guard can cause your teeth to shift or become loose. Gaps may develop between the upper and lower teeth. This not only makes eating difficult, but it may require braces to return teeth to their proper positions. 
   
   
5. More effective. If you are buying a guard to relieve snoring or sleep apnea, or to prevent damage to your teeth, only a professional can provide you with a truly effective guard that helps you achieve that goal. A custom guard will cost more but there will be more benefit. In some cases, an off-the-shelf guard is likely to do very little good at all, especially in cases of snoring or sleep apnea. And, as we have already noted, they may do harm that will be expensive to correct.

The dentists at StarBrite Dental in Rockville, Maryland, have helped many patients improve problems such as snoring, sleep apnea and teeth grinding with custom dental mouth guards. If you feel you need help with one of these problems or if you or a loved one is involved in athletics, we can help.