Teeth grinding (also known as bruxism in medical terminology) usually occurs at night during sleep. It can be exacerbated by high levels of anxiety or stress. Frequent, long-term teeth grinding and clenching will wear down the tooth enamel (hard outer layer) and can lead to oral and other health issues. Symptoms include pain in the jaw muscles and joint (TMJ), headaches, gum recession, as well as fracturing or loss of tooth. In such cases, extremely expensive dental work (surgery, bridges, crowns, root canals and implants) may be needed.

To treat teeth grinding and clenching, most dentists will recommend a dental night guard (also known as a bite guard or occlusal guard), which is a protective mouth guard made from a soft or hard plastic material. These mouth guards are worn while sleeping, and prevent the forces generated during nighttime teeth grinding from doing damage to your teeth (did you know your jaw muscles can generate over 200lbs of force?).

There are three types of mouth guards for teeth grinding:

1. The over the counter, out-of-the-box mouth guards that come ready-to-wear: these mouth guards are cheap; however, there is no way to adjust their fit. Usually, they’re bulky, uncomfortable to wear to sleep, and even breathing, difficult. In addition, they also offer limited protection against teeth grinding. Most dentists will not recommend these for their patients.

2. Boil and bite mouth guards can be bought in many pharmacies and offer a better fit. The mouth guard is placed in hot water to soften and then placed in the mouth. It’s molded around the mouth using finger and tongue pressure. While these are preferable over the out-of-the-box night guards, they remain bulky and uncomfortable to wear while sleeping.

3. Custom-fitted dental night guards are the best mouth guards for teeth grinding: they are individually made-to-fit at a professional dental laboratory using an impression of the patients teeth. Most dentists will recommend this treatment for their patients. These night guards offer the most comfort and protect the best against tooth abrasion and muscle strain; however, they usually cost $400 or more when you purchase them from a dentist.

Still, $400 is a worthwhile investment for most people, since untreated teeth grinding and clenching can lead to severe symptoms and serious tooth damage, requiring thousands of dollars of dental surgery for restoration and repair. Now, with ProTeethGuard.com, you can order the same quality custom-fitted dental night guards directly from a professional dental lab - the same place that makes dental night guard for dentists.