What Is The Importance Of A Night Guard?
Do you experience headaches, jaw pain, ear aches and neck pain regularly? If so, you’re probably one of the many people who’re suffering from bruxism, and not know about it.
Commonly referred to as teeth clenching or grinding, bruxism is a condition that occurs often exclusively when you’re asleep. Albeit, it can sometimes also happen when you’re awake. Although it might be a relatively new term for you, bruxism is actually a common sleep disorder that affects plenty of adults, as well as a number of children.
What Exactly Is Bruxism?
Bruxism is the technical term used to describe the grinding of your teeth. This is often done unconsciously, so most people probably don’t have any idea that they’re doing it. Regardless, it is not to be taken lightly, as bruxism, if left unaddressed, can lead to countless problems, including the following:
- Headaches
- Tooth pain
- Jaw pain
- Chipped teeth, fractures, loose teeth
- Earaches
- Neck pain
- Shoulder pain
- TMJ Disorder
The involuntary grinding of your teeth tends to overwork your jaw muscles, and may be the reason why you wake up feeling sore, especially in your jaws. Also, all that grinding can lead to muscle tenderness in your jaw, teeth and neck and can all contribute to your headaches. In worse cases, the constant grinding of your teeth can cause so much stress on your teeth that it can lead to infection and damage to your tooth nerve, which will require extensive, not to mention, expensive restorative treatment to fix. Accelerated tooth loss, gum recession, and TMJ disorders are also among the many other complications that could be caused by bruxism.
How Night Guards Can Help
There are plenty of ways to help you manage bruxism, but the simplest and often, the most effective solution is to use a mouth guard or a night guard.
Night guards are oral devices worn at night that help protect your teeth from the damage caused by grinding. At the same time, wearing a night guard has also been proven to help prevent patients from grinding their teeth altogether. Also, because it reduces the strain of all that grinding on your teeth and jaws, you most likely won’t be experiencing headaches and any pain or discomfort from your jaw or teeth once you start wearing these oral devices.
Don’t worry. Getting a night guard is easy, and won’t take much of your time. You simply have to visit a dentist, who will take an impression of your teeth, send them to a lab, and after some time, you’ll get a night guard that’s specifically designed for you and your mouth.
From waking up feeling groggy and in pain, wearing night guards could very well be the key to help make sure that you wake up feeling refreshed the next time around.
Visit Your Dentist Today
Teeth grinding is not an easy habit to kick, especially since you probably don’t know that you’re actually doing it. However, if you’re experiencing any of the signs and symptoms mentioned above, it might be a good idea to reach out to Spring Oaks Dental to talk about bruxism and possibly getting a night guard to help you get a good night’s sleep.