Grinding your teeth is a common, nervous habit that can cause serious oral health problems. Tooth grinding, clenching, gnashing and jaw tightening are all placed under the umbrella term ‘bruxism’. It normally occurs throughout your nights sleep, and can leave your mouth and teeth sore and give you bad headaches. Eventually, if left untreated, mouth guards to help for night use, or for day use and they are often called bite splints or plates.
Many different people are susceptible to bruxism, for example:
Alike to sports mouth guards, bite splints or bite plates can be bought over the counter or can be specifically made for you by your dentist and a dental technician. As is the case with sports mouth guards, the ones that are custom made for you will be the best fit and the most comfortable. It is likely that they will also be more durable and effective. It is not effective to use a sports mouth guard to help reduce bruxism as they are not specifically designed to counter the effects of tooth grinding and might cause further damage.
A custom made mouth guard can cost anything from £20 to £700, depending on whether you are NHS registered.
Alternative treatments for Bruxism
Realistically there is no perfect cure for bruxism and often the best that that you can do is to try to reduce your stress levels and wear a protective guard to prevent any damage that could be done.