Teeth grinding can cause ample damage to the mouth. One of the main reasons to get a mouthguard in Hamilton, ON, is to prevent teeth grinding. Teeth grinding is also called bruxism, and more than one in 10 children is affected by either daytime or nighttime teeth grinding. In addition to preventing teeth grinding, our dentists can recommend a custom sleep apnea mouth guard or snoring mouth guard tailored to your needs.
What Type of Night Guard Should I Get?
Patients will be given a mouth guard to wear at night to mitigate the damage that occurs by grinding the teeth. They are very thin, and when you’re wearing them, you don’t even notice that they’re in. All the mouthguard does is stop the teeth from grinding against each other. The mouth guard for grinding teeth is typically modeled on the patient’s jaw and tooth shape, which allows extreme comfort while sleeping.
Reducing the wear and tear on teeth at night is one of the simplest ways patients have to prevent future dental expenses. Bruxism is the root cause of many other dental issues that need to be addressed later. Talking with our dentists about nightguards is a right first step in a preventative dental maintenance plan.
What about Mouthguards for Sports?
The other reason a patient would want a mouth guard from the dentists would be to protect them during contact sports events. The wear and tear athletes place on their bodies is generally well known, but not everyone knows how important it is to protect the teeth from traumatic injury. You can prevent expensive repairs with a simple mouth guard from your dentist.
Sports mouthguards are slightly different from night guards since they are thicker and geared more toward protecting the teeth than preventing grinding. Sports cards are custom molded and generally can attach to the patient’s helmet if they play football or other sports with helmets. Soccer and baseball mouthguards are slightly different from football but are also very effective at preventing injury to the athlete’s teeth and gums.
Lily Dental is your local dentist in Hamilton, ON. Contact them online or by phone today if you are looking for a mouthguard near you.