What You Should Know About Day and Night Dental Guards in Dallas, Texas
A day or night dental guard can be a simple fix for tooth and jaw pain. Call DNA Dental Dallas at (214) 295-9270 to learn more.
If you have been diagnosed with bruxism, a day or night guard could be the solution. The team at DNA Dental Dallas, led by Dr. Darya Timin, specializes in night guards to treat and relieve jaw and mouth pain. Call (214) 295-9270 today to discover how dental guards can make mouth discomfort a thing of the past.
What Are Day and Night Guards
Day and night guards protect teeth from the severe damage grinding and clenching can do. This grinding is called bruxism. Dental guards are custom-made of hard acrylic that protects the teeth while still being comfortable to wear.
What Is Bruxism?
Bruxism is another name for tooth grinding or clenching. Most tooth grinding occurs at night (sleep bruxism), and it often goes unnoticed until teeth start to wear away and secondary problems arise, like head and jaw aches. Because of this, night guards make up the majority of guards worn by bruxism sufferers.
Bruxism that occurs in the daytime accounts for only 10% of cases. It is known as “awake bruxism” and most commonly happens in the form of jaw clenching.
The Benefits of Wearing a Day or Night Guard
- Prevents damage to the teeth. Damage includes:
- Ground-down teeth
- Chipped teeth
- Sensitive teeth
- Loose teeth
- Prevents the need for expensive dental treatments
- Prevents muscle tension, secondary effects of which include:
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Neck, shoulder, and backaches
How Dentists Fit Day and Night Guards
Dentist-fitted dental guards do the best job at protecting teeth from bruxism and are also the most comfortable to wear. The steps of the fitting process are as follows:
- The dentist makes an impression of the patient’s teeth.
- The mold goes to a dental laboratory, where technicians create a day or night guard to the precise dimensions of the patient’s teeth. The completed dental guard is returned to the dental office.
- At the patient’s next dental visit, the dentist checks the dental guard’s fit. Any minor adjustments needed are made before the patient leaves the office.
Dental Guard Care
Dental guards do valuable work protecting teeth. Day and night guards are fairly expensive, though, so it is essential to take good care of them.
Keeping Dental Guards Clean
Because they spend hours in contact with teeth and gums, it is important to keep day and night guards clean and safe from bacteria. Daily cleaning with a toothbrush should be part of a wearer’s routine.
Soaks in special cleaning solutions should also occur regularly. These cleaning solutions usually come as tablets that are dissolved in water. The tablets are formulated to kill 99% of harmful bacteria. As bacteria are invisible to the naked eye, the use of a cleaning solution is essential even if your dental guard looks clean.
Storing Dental Guards Properly
When not in a patient’s mouth or soaking in a cleaning solution, dental guards should be kept in the plastic box they arrive in. Guards fit in the boxes snugly, and boxes have ventilation holes that help keep the dental guard dry.
Dental guard storage boxes are relatively small, so it is a good idea to have a special place to keep them so that they don’t get lost.
Avoiding Heat
Dental guards are made of acrylic, which is a form of plastic. High heat can melt plastic, and even if the melting is only slight, it can still throw off the precise fit of a dental guard, and the guard will be useless.
Keeping Away from Pets
Dental guards are the perfect size, shape, and consistency for pets to chew, so keep them well out of pets’ reach!
Contact Us
If you are looking for a night or day dental guard in the Dallas, Texas, area, get in touch today with the team at DNA Dental Dallas. Dr. Darya Timin and her all-female team of expert dental assistance believe in changing lives, one smile at a time. DNA Dental offers holistic, comprehensive dental care to relieve bruxism pain and ensure lifelong oral health in a relaxing, stress-free environment.
For further information on dental guards and other treatments, call today at (214) 295-9270.
