Preventive Care
Teeth Grinding & Night Guards
Procedure Description
During your general dental exam, the dentist may notice signs of bruxism—the wear of teeth from grinding at night. This habitual grinding can cause significant damage over time, including worn enamel, tooth fractures, increased sensitivity, and TMJ disorders. When signs of bruxism are detected, we prescribe custom laboratory-fabricated night guards to stop the progression of tooth wear. The process begins with taking accurate impressions of your mouth, which are sent to a dental laboratory. The laboratory fabricates a custom night guard with precise contact points between your opposing top and bottom teeth. This ensures that when you clench or grind during sleep, the pressure distribution is more natural and balanced, minimizing stress on your TMJ and preventing further tooth wear. The entire process typically takes 1-2 weeks from impression to delivery.
Indications
Custom laboratory night guards are recommended for patients showing signs of bruxism or at risk for teeth grinding damage:
When to Consider Teeth Grinding & Night Guards
Visible Tooth Wear
Flattened, chipped, or worn tooth surfaces indicating grinding habits, especially on molars and front teeth.
TMJ Pain or Dysfunction
Jaw pain, clicking, popping, or limited jaw movement caused by nighttime clenching and grinding.
Morning Headaches
Frequent tension headaches upon waking, often caused by excessive jaw muscle activity during sleep.
Tooth Sensitivity
Increased sensitivity to hot, cold, or pressure due to enamel wear from grinding.
Dental Restoration Protection
Protecting crowns, veneers, or other expensive dental work from grinding damage.
Note: Addressing bruxism early prevents extensive and costly dental damage. Custom laboratory night guards are far superior to store-bought alternatives in both protection and comfort.
Benefits
Why Choose Teeth Grinding & Night Guards?
Superior Fit and Comfort
Laboratory-fabricated night guards are created from accurate impressions of your unique mouth anatomy, ensuring a comfortable, secure fit that stays in place throughout the night without causing gagging or discomfort.
Accurate Contact Points
Custom night guards feature precise contact points between opposing top and bottom teeth. When you clench, the pressure distribution is natural and balanced, which is impossible to achieve with generic store-bought guards.
Minimizes TMJ Damage
Because of the accurate contact points and proper fit, custom night guards distribute clenching forces evenly, reducing stress on the temporomandibular joint and preventing or alleviating TMJ disorders.
Prevents Tooth Wear
Protects tooth enamel from grinding damage, preventing the need for extensive restorative work like crowns or veneers to repair worn teeth.
Long-Lasting Durability
Professional-grade materials are thicker and more durable than store brands, typically lasting 3-5 years with proper care versus 3-6 months for drugstore alternatives.
Alternatives
Store-Bought Night Guards
Over-the-counter boil-and-bite guards are less expensive upfront but inferior in every way: poor fit, generic contact points causing unnatural pressure distribution, increased TMJ stress, difficulty breathing, gagging, and short lifespan. They often cause more problems than they solve and can actually worsen TMJ issues due to improper bite alignment.
No Treatment
Ignoring bruxism leads to progressive tooth wear, enamel loss, tooth fractures, severe TMJ disorders, chronic headaches, and eventually expensive restorative dental work to repair damaged teeth. Prevention is always more cost-effective than restoration.
Botox Injections
Can reduce jaw muscle activity in severe cases but doesn't protect teeth from wear, requires repeated treatments every 3-4 months, and is expensive. Best used in combination with night guards for severe bruxism.
Stress Management
While helpful as a complementary approach, stress reduction alone rarely eliminates nighttime grinding, which often occurs subconsciously during sleep. Should be combined with a night guard for complete protection.
Cost & Fee Schedule
Custom laboratory-fabricated night guards typically cost $400-500, depending on the type and materials used. Many insurance plans cover night guards at 50-80%. Contact us for exact pricing and to verify your insurance benefits. This investment prevents thousands of dollars in future dental work to repair grinding damage.
Authored By
Dr. Vahag Mehrabian
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Services
Locations Offering Teeth Grinding & Night Guards
Available at all Prime Dental locations throughout Los Angeles County
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