Mouthguards protect your smile from damage and trauma. Most commonly, mouthguards are used in sports to protect athletes’ teeth from getting knocked out, but there’s another reason why you might want to consider wearing one: bruxism, or teeth grinding.

If you’re prone to grinding your teeth at night, you might want to consider getting a mouthguard to protect them from wear and tear. Here’s why we offer mouthguards for bruxism at Mission Hills Family Dental, and how you can get one custom made for you.

What Is Bruxism?

Bruxism is teeth grinding. Bruxism most commonly occurs when we sleep. One of the main causes of bruxism is stress and anxiety, but there are other reasons why we might grind our teeth, including:

• Sleep apnea, which is a sleep disorder that causes one’s breathing to stop or become shallow while they sleep
• Bite abnormalities, or missing or crooked teeth
• Other sleep disorders

If you are not sure if you grind your teeth in your sleep, look out for these telltale signs:

• Constant headache
• Sore jaw
• Loose, fractured, or chipped teeth
• TMD/TMJ

Treatment for Bruxism

There are a few ways to relieve the symptoms of bruxism and help curb it, including avoiding caffeine and alcohol consumption, not chewing on objects like pens and pencils, and holding a warm washcloth to your jaw to help relax the muscles.

At Mission Hills Family Dental, we can also create a custom mouthguard to help protect your teeth from further damage. Your mouthguard will fit perfectly over your teeth and be more comfortable than a store-bought mouthguard that isn’t made for your smile specifically. Our mouthguards are made from durable materials so they don’t wear out easily.

You can choose to wear your mouthguard however often your bruxism strikes; if it’s nightly, you should wear your mouthguard every day, but you can also wear it occasionally if you don’t grind your teeth that often.

Affordable Mouthguards in San Marcos, CA

We’d love to work with you to create a custom mouthguard that fits your needs and your budget. We will work with you carefully to create a solution that is cost-effective for you. We offer flexible payment and financing options to all of our patients to ensure they get access to the care they deserve. Please give us a call at 760-536-8842 or schedule an appointment with us online to get started!