Night Guards and Bruxism in New York

Bruxism is grinding or clenching, usually during sleep and usually without the person knowing.

It wears teeth flat, chips edges, loosens restorations and can leave the jaw sore in the morning.

What a custom guard does

A night guard separates the teeth so the forces land on the appliance instead of enamel or ceramic. It is made from a digital scan of your own teeth and adjusted so the bite meets evenly across it, which is the part a shop-bought guard cannot do and the part that determines whether it is comfortable enough to actually wear.

Custom appliances are lighter, thinner, and more comfortable than store-bought plastic guards, which means you are more likely to wear them.

Sports mouth guards

The same principle protects against impact rather than grinding. A custom sports guard fits closely enough to stay in place and to let you speak, which is generally why people wear a custom one and abandon a generic one.

Finding the cause

An appliance protects the teeth; it does not explain the habit. Where the pattern of wear, jaw symptoms or an uneven bite suggests something underlying, that is worth investigating. Grinding is also associated with disrupted sleep and airway problems, which is a different appliance and a different conversation.