A mouth guard is a dental appliance that covers your teeth to prevent damage. Your dentist can recommend a mouth guard if you grind or clench your teeth, snore, or have obstructive sleep apnea or temporomandibular joint disorder. A mouthguard can also be essential if you play contact sports like football, basketball, or boxing or participate in high-fall-risk activities like biking and gymnastics. Georgetown mouthguards are fit for children and adults. In the first days of use, mouthguards can be uncomfortable, but you get used to them over time. Contact your doctor if your mouth guard causes soreness in your gums, teeth, or jaw. Below are the different types of mouthguards and their benefits.
What are the different types of mouthguards?
There are three main types of mouthguards, which include:
Mouthguards for sports
Sports mouth guards protect your teeth from sports-related injuries. If you participate in sports like boxing, wrestling, hockey, football, or basketball, these mouthguards can reduce the risk of chipped or knocked-out teeth.
Mouth guards for grinding
Mouth guards for grinding are beneficial if you grind or clench your teeth. They can help minimize the effects of temporomandibular joint problems. You can wear a grinding mouth guard at night or day. Most people wear these mouthguards at night because teeth clenching or grinding mostly happens during sleep.
Mouth guards for snoring and sleep apnea
Your doctor can recommend a mouth guard for chronic snoring or obstructive sleep apnea. These mouthguards are custom-made and help shift ad reposition your jaw to open your airway during sleep.
Additionally, mouthguards can be categorized as store-bought or custom-made:
Store-bought mouth guards
There are two major forms of store-bought mouthguards; stock and boil-and-bite. Your wear a stock mouth guard right out of the box, while a boil-and-bite can be slightly customized at home. Store-bought mouthguards are less effective than custom-made ones for teeth grinding, sports-related injuries, and sleep apnea.
Custom-made mouth guards
Your doctor designs your custom-made mouthguards to ensure they fit your exact dental anatomy. They are designed to fit your teeth perfectly, hence more comfortable than store-bought mouthguards. Custom-made mouthguards are effective for bruxism, sports-related trauma, and sleep apnea. You can wear your custom-designed mouthguard with or without your CPAP machine. Custom-made mouthguards last longer than store-bought guards.
What are the benefits of wearing a mouthguard?
Wearing your mouth guard during sports and athletic activities can help prevent damaging your tooth pulp, knocking out and chipping your teeth, and soft tissue injuries to your gums, lips, and inner cheeks. Wearing a guard at night can help avoid teeth wear and tear from clenching and grinding, snoring, and TMJ disorder symptoms like jaw pain, headaches, and facial pain. Night mouth guards can also help prevent sleep apnea and related complications like high blood pressure and daytime fatigue.
Mouth guards cover your teeth from damage like sports-related injuries, bruxism, TMJ disorder, snoring, and sleep apnea. These dental appliances can be customized or store-bought. The type of mouth guard your doctor recommends depends on your need or condition. Schedule an appointment at RR Dentistry for customized mouth guards to prevent your teeth from sports injuries, damage, or wear and tear.
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