Have you considered wearing a night guard for your teeth grinding? If not, read on to learn the top benefits of wearing a night guard to sleep.

If you’re having trouble sleeping at night, then it’s time to start thinking about your teeth! The tension in your jaw causes more problems than you may be aware of. And taking the right steps to correct the tension solves health issues that you didn’t know were connected to your mouth!

Wearing a night guard has many benefits! When you’re feeling stressed, you’re more likely to grind your teeth when you sleep. Night guards prevent this from happening. But these benefits offer more than just the prevention of teeth grinding.

If you prevent teeth grinding, then you prevent all the tooth troubles that teeth grinding brings along with it. So it’s time for you to look into the top benefits that wearing a night guard can offer you.

And we’ve made it easy! Continue reading to learn about the top benefits that night guards can offer you.

1. Prevents Tooth Damage

A night guard ensures that your top teeth and bottom teeth have no contact while you sleep. Teeth grinding is common and causes an abundance of problems for your teeth. You are unaware that you are grinding your teeth while you sleep.

So you don’t have much control over it unless you use a night guard. Grinding causes teeth to lose enamel. Enamel loss leads to over-sensitive teeth.

Grinding also causes preexisting fillings to become damaged. Damage to your fillings will land you a trip back to the dentist! And worst of all is the possibility of grinding your teeth hard enough to break or chip them.

To protect your teeth from any of these issues, it’s best to wear a night mouth guard while sleeping!

2. Reduces Jaw Tension And Pain

Another common thing that we do without control in our sleep is clenching our jaw. The jaw joint that undergoes tension is the temporomandibular joint or TMJ. When your jaw joint is not correctly aligned, it is referred to as temporomandibular joint dysfunction or TMD.

Wearing a dental night guard reduces both jaw tension and pain caused by TMD. The dental guard is made specifically for your teeth. This way, it fits comfortably and lightly into your mouth.

It significantly reduces the stress that your jaw joints and muscles undergo while you sleep. And your jaw is then able to relax.

3. Prevents Headaches

If you’ve been waking up with headaches, then you might be grinding your teeth and clenching your jaw shut while you sleep.

Grinding and clenching your teeth also causes headaches and toothaches. Excessive grinding and clenching of your teeth can cause muscle fatigues, jaw aches, earaches, and neck pains. But having a night guard custom-made to your mouth helps prevent these issues.

Night guards can also be made to help align your teeth and overbite or underbite to prevent associated jaw pain.

4. Provides Healthy Sleep Patterns

Grinding your teeth and clenching your jaw while you sleep are bad habits. And if you partake in these habits, then it’s safe to say that you’re doing it unknowingly every night.

Because night guards help relieve discomfort, they also help create healthy sleep patterns. Your custom-made night guard will fit into your mouth perfectly to align the jaw into a position that reduces stress. Your muscles will then be able to relax.

In return, you will sleep stress-free. And you will have a better night’s rest!

5. Prevents Snoring

Although snoring may be a bigger issue for your partner rather than yourself, it’s still important to address the issue! And one way of doing so is by wearing a night guard!

When your jaw is clenched, it creates breathing problems. And not breathing well during sleep leads to snoring. Once the night guard is in place, it keeps your top and bottom jaws from touching.

Keeping your jaws separate from one another increases the amount of air that you are able to breathe in while sleeping. This increase in air improves your breathing and decreases snoring.

6. Saves You Money

If there’s one thing that’s as important as saving your teeth, then it’s saving your money!

The damage that teeth grinding and jaw clenching causes is costly. And the damage that both cause over an extended period of time is even more so. As the years go by, your teeth become more and more severely damaged.

So it’s best to catch it before it starts or at the first signs of teeth grinding and jaw clenching. If you are able to catch it in the early phases and stop it with a night guard, then you’re saving yourself some major money down the road.

Don’t let these painfully bad habits cost you!

Stop Your Pains With Your Custom Night Guard

If you notice that you’re waking up with muscle pains around your neck, head or jaw, then you need to think about having a night guard custom made for you! Preventing the damage before it happens is the best way to save yourself from pain and money loss!

Many people do not link muscle pains with issues associated with temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD). So it’s important to remember the signs and symptoms that we listed above. Speak with a reputable dentist about any concerns.

And if you believe that you might be suffering from teeth grinding or jaw clenching, then don’t hesitate to contact us today! And put an end to these seriously bad habits before they cause severe damage.

 

Article originally appeared at: https://www.simplysmilesdds.com/

Author: Simply Smiles Family Dentistry & Implant Center