Custom dental guards are designed to protect your teeth from damage.
Night guards help protect teeth from grinding or clenching during sleep, a condition dentists call bruxism. Over time, grinding and clenching can contribute to tooth wear, fractures, and jaw discomfort.
Mouth guards are worn during athletic activities to help reduce the risk of chipped, broken, or knocked-out teeth during contact or high-impact sports.
Our custom guards are made right here in our in-house dental lab.
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Night Guards (Bite Splints)
Night guards, also called bite splints, are custom dental appliances designed to protect your teeth from grinding and clenching while you sleep.
Tooth grinding, a.k.a. bruxism, can place excessive pressure on the teeth, jaw, and surrounding muscles, often without you even realizing it.
Over time, grinding and clenching can contribute to worn or fractured teeth, jaw discomfort, headaches, and increased tooth sensitivity.
A custom night guard creates a protective barrier between your upper and lower teeth, which helps absorb and redistribute those forces. It helps limit tooth damage from grinding and clenching.
Your night guard is made specifically for your bite using impressions and bite measurements. The fit is checked and adjusted to help keep it comfortable and secure.
The design depends on your teeth, bite, and individual needs. Regular follow-up allows us to check for wear and make adjustments as needed.
Sports Mouth Guards
A sports mouth guard is a flexible, custom-fit appliance worn over the teeth to help protect your teeth and the soft tissues of your mouth. It’s one of the simplest, yet often overlooked, ways of protecting yourself or your children against sports-related dental injuries.
Mouth guards help reduce the risk of chipped, broken, or knocked-out teeth, as well as injuries to the lips and tongue, during activities where impacts, falls, or collisions are possible.
Mouth guards are commonly recommended for contact and collision sports such as ice hockey, lacrosse, football, basketball, soccer, boxing, wrestling and martial arts. If you or your children play these sports, you’re probably aware of their potential for unplanned trips to the emergency room.
Helmets and face shields offer important protection, but a mouth guard helps protect the teeth and surrounding soft tissues directly, cushioning impacts that could otherwise cause injury.
Custom sports mouth guards are made specifically for your mouth, allowing for a secure, comfortable fit. A properly fitted guard should stay in place during activity and allow you to breathe and speak comfortably.
Getting fitted involves taking an impression of your teeth, making your custom mouth guard in our in-house lab, and checking its fit before you take it home. You are then free to go out and moonlight as Muhammad Ali.
Another important thing to remember: As children lose teeth and grow, their mouth guards may need replacing more often to keep fitting properly. Bring your mouth guard to dental visits so we can check its fit and condition, and let us know if it becomes loose, uncomfortable or damaged.
Night Guards vs Mouth Guards
While both night guards and mouth guards start with taking an impression of your mouth, they are designed for very different purposes.
Night guards are created with the mechanics of your jaw and bite in mind. That’s why we may take additional measurements and use tools designed to evaluate how your jaw moves and where your teeth make contact. (Yes, it can look a little medieval, but it’s painless and very effective.)
- Night guards are all about protecting your teeth from the wear and damage caused by grinding and clenching.
- Mouth guards are all about protecting your teeth from impact and injury during sports and physical activity.
Same idea, very different purposes. Trust us, sports mouth guards aren’t meant for sleeping, and night guards aren’t built for hockey.
Protect Your Smile Day or Night