Bruxism (grinding) is an ever-increasing problem that today’s generation face. It is usually stress related. It more than often occurs at night-time, meaning the problem can go missed for several years. Not only does it cause rapid tooth-wear and recurrent fractures of teeth and restorations, it can also lead to more severe problems of the bite and jaw joint. It can lead to severe headaches, jaw aches and bite problems.
Hence early assessment and treatment is essential.
A simple way of protecting the teeth and jaw from further damage is by wearing a Mouthguard at night. This is a thin bit of acrylic (plastic) that covers your Occlusal (biting) surfaces of your teeth, and hence, you bite through the plastic rather than your teeth.
It takes 1-2 weeks to construct and requires a simple mould (impression) to be sent to a specialised lab. We then advise you try and wear nightly to prevent further problems.
Do you or your children participate in high-contact sports? If so, you should strongly consider a mouthguard to protect those pearly whites when they are at their most vulnerable.
All it takes is a simple impression sent to a Laboratory and it could be with you protecting your teeth in 1-2 weeks!
