Five Benefits of a Nightguard

If you suffer from nightly jaw clenching, tooth grinding, a condition called bruxism,  or tempomandibular disorder, called TMD, you know how uncomfortable the side effects can be.  You may regularly wake up  with headaches, jaw or facial pain, notice your teeth are wearing down, or experience disrupted sleep patterns.   Fortunately there is a simple solution that can dramatically change your life - being fitted for a nightguard.  Whatever your reason for wearing a night guard, consistent use of it offers five key advantages.

It Protects your Teeth from Wear 

Although not all wear and tear on the teeth happens at night, a lot of it can.  The nightly habit of unconsciously grinding and clenching your jaw can lead to chipped teeth, damaged fillings and excessive wear on the teeth.  Having the protection of a thin piece of plastic covering the occlusal surfaces of your teeth is kinder to them and when plastic meets tooth, it is the plastic that tends to wear - not the tooth surface. 

Alleviate Pain & Headaches

Unfortunately, there are a host of discomforts that accompany bruxism and TMD.  Patients often complain of a sore or tender jaw, morning headaches, ear aches, neck pain, sensitive teeth, muscle fatigue, facial pain and spasms.  A properly designed night guard will have a well adjusted, aligned and balanced bite which can "shutdown" the muscles in your jaw and allows them a night time rest. Many patients report their facial and jaw muscles are more relaxed when they wake up and that they no longer have headaches, jaw pain or other symptoms. 

Keep Your Teeth in Place 

Although teeth appear stationary, they are not.   The nightguard functions like an orthodontic retainer and wearing it nightly will keep your teeth in place and will not allow them to "drift".  This can be especially important for older patients.  The night guard acts like a splint and keeps teeth that have experienced bone loss from developing excessive mobility, which can help prevent tooth loss.

Improve Your Sleep Patterns  

Nightguards provide maximum comfort while minimizing your symptoms, which ends up drastically improving your sleep patterns. The nightguard positions your jaw in such a way that facilitates muscle relaxation, and by keeping these muscles relaxed, you can avoid the stress-filled, interrupted sleep that often accompanies bruxism and TMD.  Interrupted or impaired sleep can wreak havoc with your mood and energy levels, and can also increase your risk of heart disease, prevent you from losing weight, and raise your blood pressure.  

Money Saving in the Long-Term

The tooth damage caused by the unconscious nightly grinding and clenching of your teeth and jaw tends to be quite costly. Perhaps the greatest downside of teeth clenching is that it slowly but surely destroys your teeth over the years. When this happens, the restorative dental treatments required for both aesthetic and functional purposes are an expensive investment.   Just as important, nightguards may help you have the uninterrupted, restorative sleep we need to function at our best, and maintain the best possible health.

Nightguards are comfortable, practical, and affordable - and the benefits can be immediate.  Many patients report a restful night of sleep, and that their pain has disappeared, after wearing their nightguard for just one night.  At Jeff M. Morrison & Associates, getting your own nightguard is a simple process and typically is done with just two visits, one to create a custom mold of your teeth, and another to test the fitting. The advantages of wearing a nightguard are too great to ignore. If you think a nightguard might be right for you, contact Jeff M. Morrison & Associates and start protecting your teeth today.

Did you find this blog post helpful?  Give us some feedback and also let us know if there are other dental or oral health topics you may be interested in.  

TMD Pain and What You Can Do

Like many of our other body parts, we don’t realize how important the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is until it stops working properly.  This unique joint allows your jaw to open and close and to move back and forth and side to side.  When problems with the TMJ arise, called Temporomandibular  joint disorder - or TMD[i], symptoms can range from being a simple nuisance to incapacitating, affecting your ability to speak, eat, chew and sleep.  Here is some information that may help if you are experiencing TMD:

Symptoms of TMD

Pain, particularly in the jaw joint, is the most common symptom of TMD.  People with TMD may also experience one or more of the following symptoms:

• Unusual sounds — Clicking, grinding or popping sounds when you open your mouth are common in people with TMD. The sounds may or may not be accompanied by pain.
• Locking or limited movement —The jaw joint sometimes may lock in an open or closed position. You may have difficulty opening your mouth either because the joint is locked or because of pain.
• "Ear" pain — You may think you have an ear infection, but ear pain may be related to jaw joint inflammation or muscle tenderness. Pain from TMD is usually felt in front of or below the ear.
• Headaches — People with TMD often report headaches, especially headaches when they first wake up.
• Morning stiffness or soreness — If your jaw muscles are stiff and sore when you wake up, it may by a sign that you are clenching your jaw or grinding your teeth in your sleep.
• Difficulty chewing — You may have difficulty chewing as a result of a change in your bite, or the way your upper and lower teeth fit together. 

Who Gets TMD and Why?

If you have TMD you are not alone - this disorder occurs in 10-12% of the population, and twice as often in women as men.  The cause is not always clear.  One factor may be physical stress on your TMJ from teeth grinding or clenching.  A recent injury to the jaw joint, or one from many years past, can lead to TMD symptoms.   Other conditions that affect joints in the body, such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, can also cause TMD pain.   

What Can You Do if you Have TMD?

Most people with TMD have relatively mild or periodic symptoms which quickly improve with simple home therapies, such as avoiding hard, crunchy and chewy foods, applying heat or ice packs to the jaw, and avoiding extreme jaw movements.  You may want to invest in a headset for your phone or work on your posture, especially if you find yourself hunching over your computer.  We also suggest that you consider the level of stress in your life - and do what is needed to reduce it.  If these home remedies are not enough, some of the effective, conservative treatments we use include medication to help with the pain and reduce inflammation, mild muscle relaxants to alleviate jaw clenching and grinding, and fitting our patients with oral appliances. 

If these symptoms sound familiar, contact Raleigh dentist Jeff M. Morrison & Associates DDS at (919) 755 3450 for a consultation.  

 

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[i] TMD is an umbrella term covering pain and dysfunction of the muscles that move the jaw and the temporomandibular joints (TMJ).  Many people refer to the jaw pain or discomfort they are experiencing as "TMJ" which is a misnomer.  TMJ simply refers to the joint.  Any disorders involving this joint are considered TMD.