Dental Mouth Guards

People often complain about pain in their joints, (just outside the ear) and headaches. That is because they clench or grind their teeth during the night. This parafuctional habbit is called bruxism and is usually caused from stess. We observe bruxism during day time too, but that is something a person can control. The problem is during the night grinding when people grind or clench their teeth subconsiously in their sleep. 

At this point we have to make clear that teeth- grinding is the result of our chewing musles fuction (Maseter, temporalis). The night guard helps the musles to relax by leading them into their rest position. The night guard is made of a hard material 2-3mm thick. 

To fabricate the guard , the lab needs impressions of the upper and lower jaw and a bite of their central relation. After the night guard is delivered from the lab a few days later we need to calibrate the occlusion. To do the whole procedure the dentist must have the prober training. At the begining using the night guard may seem uncomfortable but once you get use to it you cant sleep without it.

The mouth guard is used by athletes and sportsmen to protect their teeth from accidents during a game, especially in contact sports. The mouth guard is made of a thicker yet softer material, which can absorb high-intensity shocks and impacts when the player falls on his face or collides with other players. The sharp and sudden shock is often strong enough to damage the teeth and this is exactly what the mouth guard is used for.

When you do a home-bleach, your dentist will provide a set of custom made soft guards made of 1mm thickness, silicon material. In these guards you will put the bleaching gel and keep them in your mouth for 6-8 hours for 8-12 days to whiten your teeth.