The Two Types of Teeth Grinding Mouth Guards

Bruxism, or teeth grinding, is a poorly-understood condition that affects millions of people every night. Since it often isn't immediately painful or life-threatening, many sufferers will simply ignore the condition, or not even realize that they have it. However, even though bruxism is often a silent issue, it can have very severe long-term ramifications, including damaged teeth, temperomandibular joint disorder, and injuries to gums. For this reason, getting adequate treatment for it is critical. There is not yet a cure for bruxism, but many patients find relief using one of two types of teeth grinding guards.

Some people experience bruxism as a result of stress, anxiety, dental conditions, or certain types of medication. For these patients, psychotherapy, dental work, or a simple change in medication might cause the resulting grinding to go away. For others, doctors and dentists will often recommend the use of grinding mouth guards. These generally come in two different forms- ready-to-use guards available without a prescription or any preparatory work, and custom-fitted guards that require a dental visit for proper fitting.

Over the counter teeth grinding mouth guards are usually made of a flexible plastic, or even a thermoplastic material. These are not custom fitted to the user's teeth, though those made of thermoplastic materials (also called "boil-and-bite" guards) can be heated and molded more easily than other types. These prevent dental surfaces from touching, and hold teeth in a stationary position, relieving the chipped teeth, sore neck and facial muscles, and painful jaws that night time teeth grinding can result in. Since these grinding mouth guards are readily available from a pharmacy, they tend to be rather inexpensive.

Prescription teeth grinding mouth guards require a dentist to make a plaster cast of a patient's teeth, and then using this to have a dental laboratory create a guard designed specifically around the unique shape of the patient's mouth. These teeth grinding guards do not require any additional boiling, molding, or special fitting, and are often the best option for people with braces, extensive dental work, or hard-to-fit mouths. Because they are more labor intensive than over the counter mouth guards, as well as requiring more specialized training and preparation, prescription teeth grinding mouth guards tend to be more expensive than the non-prescription variant, including the cost of the dental visit.

Sufferers of bruxism should realize that while the condition itself is often not painful or life-threatening, the results of it can be dangerous, resulting in TMJ, infected gums, and extensive tooth damage. By using teeth grinding mouth guards, however, they can get relief from the side-effects of bruxism, and avoid all of the costly and painful dental treatments they could end up requiring later on.