Bruxism Mouth Guards: Night guards for teeth grinding & benefits
What is bruxism?
Bruxism is the clenching or gnashing of the teeth at times that do not concern the chewing process. This habit can result extremely harmful because it happens unconsciously and cannot be easily controlled. Bruxism is a phenomenon that can be observed during the night or day in moments of great anxiety, stress and fatigue.
The repetition of bruxism can cause serious functional problems in terms of the correct convergence of the teeth and the denture structure. Due to this fact, many patients face serious pain in the jaws and their joints, as well as disability to open and close their mouth without any effort. Headaches and migraines can also consist possible symptoms, due to the contraction of temporal muscles. For the above reasons, the teeth can also get damaged, gaining the tendency to gnash. As a result, the appearance of teeth alternates, they move and they acquire fractures, destroying any prosthetic dental process.
Usage
The existence of bruxism makes the usage of bruxism mouth guards necessary, providing various future benefits. The bruxism mouth guard is a specially designed accessory made of hard acrylic, which covers the chewing surfaces of upper and lower jaw, in order to control the pressures into the oral cavity.
Bruxism mouth guards are usually used at night while sleeping, but they can also be worn during the day, after proper care of oral hygiene. The placement of bruxism mouth guards prevents the teeth from closing in their usual position, relaxing the muscles, while permitting their decongestion. Thus, the pressures inside the oral cavity, the pain and the gnashing are reduced. For this reason, bruxism mouth guards must be hard and stable, without blocking the movements of the lower jaw.
Construction process
For the construction of bruxism mouth guards, the dentist has to collect the exact dental imprints of both jaws. Also, all the movements of the jaw, the mouth, as well as the inclination of the teeth have to be recorded. In this way, the bruxism mouth guard will be able to touch exactly the specific areas and fit perfectly.
Also, it has to be mentioned that bruxism symptoms are characterised by a variety in their intensity during different periods. This happens because bruxism is directly affected by internal or external factors that concern patient’s phycology. However, each incident is special and needs different guidance by the dentist. Moreover, the beneficial results of bruxism mouth guards are indisputable, because they can provide a better quality of life.
