# Night Guards for Bruxism **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 9, 2011, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-guards-for-bruxism/605604 "2011-12-09T10:21:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bonjour33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Bonjour33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonjour33)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-guards-for-bruxism/605604/21 "2013-05-21T01:54:15Z")
Any new improvement? I ask since I have been suffering from sleep bruxism for more than five years now. I tried all kind of different night guards, including the OTC and custom ones. As I don’t have the luxury of having insurance, I now order directly from the lab recommend on [this page](http://www.cureyourbruxism.com/step-1-protect-teeth-night-guard/). I wish there was a definite cure though. I’m saving up for a sleep study test to hopefully find what’s causing the grinding. But I’m not holding my breath… ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-guards-for-bruxism/605604/22 "2013-05-21T02:43:01Z")
> [@iamnotbatman](#): > > I have a night guard, and I am thankful that it prevents me from further grinding my teeth, but I feel that it exacerbates the underlying problem, the tense, clenching jaws. My teeth and jaws are sorer in the morning than if I hadn’t worn the night guard. I wish there was a better solution, like maybe botox into the jaw muscles? I’m a lifelong clencher too. Back in the days when I had decent insurance I used to get those Botox injections. Hurt like hell, but I was pain free for a good 3-6 months afterward. I still had to wear the night guard, though, just to be on the safe side. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-guards-for-bruxism/605604/23 "2013-05-21T03:03:58Z")
Another clencher–I use something called “Sleep Right by Splintek” or something similar, I used to pay the $45 (and I chew thru them about 4 or 5 times a year)-now I can find them on Ebay for around $20. I swear by it. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-guards-for-bruxism/605604/24 "2013-05-21T03:32:02Z")
I just started wearing one about a month ago (a proper one from my dentist.) I was aware that I tend to clench and grind my teeth, even when awake. The first night was unpleasant - the thing felt way too tight (like back when I had my braces tightened) and it kept me up all night. After a night or two, the thing loosened up a bit. And I actually started liking it. I feel like I do sleep better with it in. No more mystery tooth soreness. And after only a month I can feel the wear marks where I’ve already started grinding through it. Better this plastic piece rather than my teeth. Now I prefer to sleep wearing it than without. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-guards-for-bruxism/605604/25 "2013-05-21T15:53:56Z")
I’ve worn a bruxism guard for the last 22 years. My first one lasted nearly 20 years and only died because the puppy dog got ahold of it and proved her bite strength was significantly greater than mine. It (the guard, not the dog) was made out of an extremely hard acrylic and had to be ground down in places to make sure my teeth would slide over the bite surface without catching. Between the death of my first guard and the second, I didn’t have dental coverage, so I had to go with OTC products, and even the ones which said they could last weeks lasted only days for me. Without a bite guard, I start having severe tension headaches in a day. Within a couple of days, my teeth start shifting in my jaw and hurt when I chew. I actually had to go off SSRIs because, even with a good bruxism guard, I started having headaches. Now I have a second dentist-made guard. It’s made with a softer material than the first one, and I can already tell from the amount of wear there’s no way it’ll last as long as the first. If it lasts five years, I’ll figure I got my money’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-guards-for-bruxism/605604/28 "2013-09-08T18:30:52Z")
> [@Patience\_Jones](#): > > My problem with tooth grinding has become bad enough that my dentist wants me to use a custom made night guard. It will cost about $500. I don’t doubt that I need one, since I’m having quite a bit of gum recession because of it. Also, I often wake up in the morning with sore teeth and gums because I’ve been clenching so hard. I even sometimes wake myself up from having bitten my tongue. Not fun. > > However, aside from the fact that I don’t want to pay that much money for one, I also wonder if OTC night guards will do the job just as well. > > I’m curious to hear others’ experiences with either kind of guard, especially if you had trouble sleeping while wearing one. I wear a custom mouth guard every night. It is worth it. The few nights I skip it, my jaw is sore in the morning. It doesn’t disturb my sleep. Surprisingly, my wife has never complained about it either… I find it worth it. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-guards-for-bruxism/605604/29 "2013-09-08T20:04:07Z")
Of course this comes with the caveat that the dentist is trying to make a living, but my guy told me with the bite I have, an OTC one would actually be damaging. He said in the past he would have been neutral on OTC vs his version, but then had a number of patients come in who had messed up their teeth and had to have $1000s of work done. So I am opting for his version. ---
**Author:** ![breezman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@breezman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breezman)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-guards-for-bruxism/605604/30 "2013-09-08T21:22:51Z")
I recently bought a $200 custom-made guard from my dentist. Well worth the money. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-guards-for-bruxism/605604.md?page=1)