Protect Your Oral Health from Tooth Grinding and Clenching with Custom Nightguards
Do you wake up with jaw pain and headaches? Have you noticed signs of chips and cracks on your front teeth? The cause could be grinding and clenching of your teeth at night — a condition called bruxism. Unfortunately, most people aren’t aware they have a teeth grinding condition because they do it involuntarily at night.
At Piney Creek Family Dentistry, Dr. Tiffany Fritz can create a removable, custom nightguard to protect your teeth against bruxism. Please book an appointment today to protect your smile.
What is bruxism?
It’s the technical term for tooth grinding. For most people, this bad habit happens when asleep; hence they don’t know they have the problem until told by the dentist or bed partner. Your enamel suffers the bigger brunt from tooth grinding. Failure to address bruxism may cause stress fractures or jagged lines on your teeth. While these chips may not result in breakage, they form perfect breeding grounds for harmful bacteria.
While bruxism damages teeth, the grinding force may exert pressure on your jaw muscles and joints, causing them to overwork. As a result, you may suffer from TMJ-related symptoms. The typical symptoms of bruxism include:
- Headaches
- Jaw pain
- Tooth sensitivity
- Worn-out enamel
- Loose teeth
A custom-designed mouthpiece can halt the above symptoms. The first step to getting a nightguard is to book an appointment with Dr. Fritz. We take your bite impressions and send the images to a lab technician to custom-make your mouthpiece. Once your nightguard is ready, you will book another appointment with our office to pick it up. Before you leave, we make minor adjustments to the mouthguard to ensure it fits comfortably.
How a mouthguard protects your smile
It can be hard to fathom how a plastic mouthpiece can protect your smile from teeth grinding and clenching. Wearing a nightguard prevents the upper and lower teeth from making contact when sleeping. The dental device protects your teeth and jaw joints from the teeth grinding effects. This way, you can get your much-deserved sleep and wake up feeling refreshed to go on about your day.
Protect your smile today with a mouthguard!
Don’t let bruxism take control of your oral health. A dentist in Centennial, CO, can help. Please dial (303) 562-1051 to book an appointment with Piney Creek Family Dentistry for customized nightguards.