What Is the Best Nightguard Type?

If you are grinding your teeth at night and wake up with sore painful jaw muscles and other facial pain, you may be able to stop that pain by wearing a dental nightguard while you sleep. You can choose a hard, soft or combination nightguard type depending on the severity of your problem and your need to save time and money. These night guards are available online or from dental specialists.

Who Should Use a Nightguard?

If you have any of the following signs or symptoms, you may benefit from a nightguard dental appliance.

• Teeth clenching, grinding (bruxism)


• Pain in the jaw joint (TMJ)


• Ear ache or hearing problems, often a high pitched noise


• General face pain


• Pain in the neck


• Clicking or popping of the jaw joint


• Teeth that are sensitive


• Painful jaw muscles


• Dizziness


• Sleeping problems


• Trouble with opening or closing your mouth


• Headaches


• Teeth that are worn, sharp, short, or flat


• Frequently breaking teeth or dental work


• Sleep partner complains of grinding noise during sleep


• Snoring or sleep apnea

What causes the pain?

Muscles rule.The constant muscle contraction during sleep causes muscle fatigue. Lactic acid and other chemicals accumulate within the fatigued muscles causing pain. It is sort of like the Colorado River making the Grand Canyon. It may not seem like much at first but over time the clenching can actually cause the teeth to wear away and damage the TMJ and bony structures. Sometimes the damage is permanent. Teeth can wear becoming sensitive as the clenching wears away the surface closer and closer to the nerve. The teeth sockets can be damaged resulting in the teeth becoming loose. The supporting ligaments and tendons of the TMJ are injured by this extreme muscular activity resulting in pain, bite changes, and permanent joint damage. All the associated muscles of the face and neck can become fatigued resulting in pain as the other supporting joint structures tendons and ligaments are stressed and also become painful as a result of the relentless muscle clenching.

How Can Nightguard Help?

The pain cycle is initiated by the jaw muscles clenching. In some cases the nightguard works by preventing the beginning of this cycle. Night guards have a similar shape to the common sports mouthguard; but night guards are designed with other benefits. Since the nightguard prevents full closure due to the thickness of the nightguard, maximum force cannot be created. Reduced muscle force helps eliminate the pain. Protecting the teeth with a resin or vinyl type nightguard material also eliminates further teeth or dental work damage. If the problem is caused by a bad bite, a dentist specializing in TMJ disorders may be required to realign the jaw to a more physiological position. Some of these dentists trained for treating TMJ problems are called neuro-muscular dentists.Emotional stress also may cause a person to clench. Professional counseling may get at the cause and the TMJ pain can be helped temporarily by using a nightguard during psychological counseling. Snoring and sleep apnea are also seen in combination with the clenching. Sometimes wearing a nightguard will help those situations also.

How to Choose a Nightguard

Nightguards are currently being made in one of three types: Soft Nightguard, Hard Nightguard and a Dual Laminate Nightguard which is soft on the inside and hard on the outside. Review the following information to help you choose the best nightguard type for your situation.

Soft Nightguard Benefits

If you have minor pain or just want to try a mouthpiece the soft nightguard may be a good choice. By being soft these nightguards are usually quite comfortable, priced right and may satisfactorily treat the clenching pain. By being soft however, the material is more likely to become worn easily especially if you are an extreme clencher; but the soft mouth guard still may help you. If you have extreme clenching or know that you have bite problems, some TMJ experts say that the soft nightguard may actually increase you clenching. This is an individual problem and can vary from case to case. These economical soft nightguards available online may fully stop your pain or let you see if you get relief from a nightguard, before you invest in a dentist nightguard or more durable custom laboratory nightguard available online. Since fitting is easy and the nightguards are economical, many people start with the soft night guard. If you find you are still having problems, you can make your own custom nightguard from the online lab or consult with a dental specialist for treatment.

Hard Nightguard Benefits

These nightguards are the most durable and are fabricated with hard acrylic. These may be used by people with extreme clenching or complicated bite problems. A TMJ dental specialist may be best to treat these extreme clenchers since the fitting process can be very precise. The hard acrylic does not compress under stress and as such may not be quite as comfortable. If you want to self- treat your problem, some online dental laboratories provide the option of making your own hard acrylic nightguard. You receive an impression kit form the lab, make your own impression, and then send it to the lab for fabrication. This hard lab nightguard available online may help solve your problem completely or serve as a good treatment option until you have time or money to obtain a professional solution.

Dual Laminate Nightguard Benefits

Relatively new on the scene is the dual laminate nightguard. This mouthguard combines both the comfort of the soft guard and the durability of the hard acrylic. The first soft vinyl layer of material covers the teeth and provides maximum comfort and adaptability. This cushions the teeth under extreme pressure. The outer layer is a hard durable acrylic designed to not break away under clenching and will help protect teeth. The dual laminate nightguard available onlinerequires a custom impression by the user. Yet with all these advantages the extreme clencher may not be able to tolerate the slight extra thickness require for these two layers. Extreme clenchers may need to consult a TMJ dentist. However for most nighttime clenchers, the dual laminate nightguard combination is strong yet comfortable.

Nightguard Availability

These nightguards are available from dentists and online stores. A nightguard fitted by a dentist specializing in TMJ problems will likely give you the best possible solution. However if you want to save time and money, you can consider treating your teeth grinding and clenching pain with nightguards obtained from mouthguard stores online.