Mouthguards

What Is a Mouthguard?

A custom mouthguard is made to fit over your teeth exactly, preventing damage and treating conditions such as sleep apnea and jaw joint disorders. Many mouthguards are designed to fit over just your upper teeth, but sometimes a mouthguard is also recommended to cover the lower teeth.

When Is a Mouthguard Recommended?

We are likely to recommend a mouthguard in the following situations, which include:

• Protecting your teeth, gums, and jaws during sports or during any activity where you can take a blow to the mouth.
• Treating teeth grinding and clenching (bruxism).
• Treating sleep apnea and snoring.
• Treating jaw joint disorders (TMD).

The Different Types of Mouthguards We Offer

We can provide three different types of mouthguards that will cover all the above situations. These are:

1. Sports mouthguards.
2. Dental splints or night guards.
3. Sleep apnea mouthguards.

1. Sports Mouthguards

Do you or another family member love to play sports, especially contact sports? We strongly recommend having a custom-made mouthguard.

Every year, we see patients who have not worn a sports mouthguard and sustained dental injuries. Sometimes these injuries are severe, damaging teeth or knocking them out completely, or damaging the jaws.

A custom-made sports mouthguard is specifically designed to help absorb a blow to the mouth. It is thicker in areas where protection is more critical, helping reduce the risk of dental injuries or minimize damage.

2. Dental Splints or Night Guards for Bruxism and TMD

We may prescribe a night guard or dental splint if we diagnose you with bruxism, where you clench and grind your teeth, and it can be a sleep disorder. Because this is often a nocturnal habit, people are frequently unaware that they clench and grind.

Untreated bruxism can cause excessive tooth wear, increasing the risk of tooth cracking. The pressure can cause gum recession. Bruxism can even cause tooth loss.

When you have a mouthguard to treat this condition, it will fit comfortably over your upper teeth so they cannot contact your lower teeth. This prevents you from clenching and grinding during sleep.

Temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMD, is frequently related to bruxism, and it is caused when your temporomandibular joints become inflamed and painful. These joints hinge your lower jaw to your skull, and when they are inflamed, they can make it difficult to move your jaw comfortably.

Wearing a night guard that helps prevent bruxism can also reduce the pressure on your jaw joints, relieving inflammation and pain.

3. Sleep Apnea Mouthguards

Sleep apnea is another sleep disorder in which breathing is interrupted multiple times during the night. These frequent pauses in breathing occur because the muscles in your throat relax as you sleep, causing your airway to collapse and narrow, sometimes becoming completely obstructed.

It’s not unusual for people with sleep apnea to stop breathing for several seconds, hundreds of times a night. Some people are unaware that they have sleep apnea but may awaken feeling unrefreshed, with a headache, or a dry mouth.

Others are alerted to the problem by a sleeping partner who is understandably alarmed when breathing stops frequently.

It is important to get a proper diagnosis of sleep apnea because it can affect overall health. Usually, this involves an overnight stay at a sleep clinic, where a technician monitors your vital signs to assess the severity of the condition.

Our sleep apnea mouthguards are designed to help keep the airway open by gently moving the lower jaw forward. It can be a successful treatment if you are diagnosed with mild or moderate sleep apnea or an alternative to using a CPAP machine.

A CPAP machine delivers a continuous flow of air through a mask over your nose, helping keep your airway open, and its use may be advised if you are diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. Although effective, some people find using the machine tricky; in such cases, a night splint may help.

Benefits of Having a Custom-Made Mouthguard

Choosing a custom-made mouthguard can provide multiple benefits, and it is an inexpensive oral appliance.

Sports Mouthguards

1. Your custom-made mouthguard helps reduce the risk of knocked-out teeth or other serious dental injuries. It can save you a great deal of heartache, not to mention potentially expensive restorative dental bills, especially when you consider the lifetime cost.
2. It is also designed to help protect the soft tissues in your mouth, including your cheeks, lips, and tongue. Injuries to these tissues can be painful and lead to extensive bleeding.

Night Guards

1. A night guard can help protect teeth and jaws from further damage caused by bruxism and TMD.
2. Wearing a night guard for sleep apnea can enable a better night’s sleep and protect overall health.

The Process for Making and Fitting a Mouthguard

Making and fitting a mouthguard is a quick, non-invasive process.

1. We take a detailed digital impression of your teeth that is very accurate and quick.
2. Our dentist will custom-design your mouthguard digitally.
3. We will select the right materials for your mouthguard, which are odor-free and neutral-tasting, and you can select the colour of your sports mouthguard.
4. Once the design is complete, it will be 3-D printed and is ready to fit.

Our dentist will show you how to insert and remove the mouthguard, and it is ready to use.

Looking after Your Mouthguard

Our mouthguards are made from high-quality materials designed to last, but proper care will help prolong their life. Below are some easy tips to follow.

• Clean your mouthguard after wearing it using mild dish soap and a soft-bristle brush. Rinse the mouthguard in cool water and let it air dry.
• Never clean your mouthguard using hot water, as this could distort it.
• Store your mouthguard in the plastic case supplied and keep it away from heat that could warp it.
• Bring your mouthguard to dental exams so we can check its condition and ensure it fits properly.
• Keep your mouthguard away from pets. They can be attracted to the smell of saliva and tempted to chew it.

Do you have any questions about the dental mouth guards? Please call our office at (305) 816-6620 or visit our dentistry center in in North Miami Beach, FL.

Frequently Asked Questions