Flattened or shortened biting surfaces on the teeth.
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Protection Designed for Your Smile
Custom Night Guards in Regina
A custom night guard is a dentist-prescribed oral appliance designed to fit over selected teeth and help protect them from forces related to nighttime grinding or clenching. It may reduce direct wear on teeth and restorations, but it does not guarantee that grinding will stop or cure jaw-joint problems. Downtown Dental Centre assesses your teeth, bite, symptoms, and dental work before recommending an appliance and arranging a custom fit.
Recognizing Possible Signs
Could Grinding or Clenching Be Affecting Your Teeth?
Grinding and clenching can occur without a person realizing it. Possible signs may be noticed at home, reported by a partner, or identified during a dental examination.
Chipped, cracked, or rough tooth edges.
Repeated damage to fillings or other restorations.
Jaw tiredness, tightness, or fatigue after waking.
A partner hearing grinding sounds during sleep.
These signs are not specific to grinding, and self-diagnosis can be unreliable. A newly chipped or painful tooth should be examined before using a store-bought guard, since the tooth itself may require treatment.
A custom appliance is created from records of your mouth and checked
for fit, comfort, retention, and bite.
Understanding Its Purpose
What Can a Night Guard Help With?
The main purpose of a night guard is to create a protective surface between selected teeth. It may help reduce direct tooth-to-tooth wear and protect existing dental work from some grinding and clenching forces.
Protecting Teeth and Dental Restorations
A carefully fitted appliance may help protect fillings, crowns, and other dental restorations. Patients with extensive dental work may require additional planning so the guard supports their broader restorative dentistry needs.
What a Night Guard Cannot Guarantee
- It does not guarantee that grinding or clenching will stop.
- It may not resolve every headache, jaw symptom, or sleep concern.
- It is not automatically a treatment for snoring or sleep apnea.
- Breathing concerns require appropriate medical or dental assessment.
A Fit Made for You
How Is a Custom Night Guard Made and Fitted?
The process begins with an assessment rather than an appliance alone. At Downtown Dental Centre, the design is selected after reviewing your teeth, bite, symptoms, and existing dental work.
Dental Assessment
Your teeth, gums, bite, fillings, crowns, wear patterns, and symptoms are examined.
Dental Records
An impression or digital scan records the shape and position of your teeth.
Appliance Design
The appropriate arch, material, and design are selected for your mouth.
Fitting Visit
The fit, retention, comfort, edges, and contact with opposing teeth are checked.
Follow-Up
Adjustments may be made as you adapt or if your bite and dental work change.
Know the Difference
Custom Night Guards Versus Shop-Bought Guards
Both types create a barrier between the teeth, but they differ in how they are selected, fitted, adjusted, and monitored.
Feature
Custom Night Guard
Shop-Bought Guard
Fit
Created using records of your teeth.
Standard-sized or shaped at home.
Assessment
Provided after an oral and bite evaluation.
Usually selected without a dental diagnosis.
Adjustment
A dentist can refine the fit, edges, and bite.
Professional adjustment may not be available.
Monitoring
The appliance can be reviewed during dental visits.
Wear or bite changes may go unnoticed.
A shop-bought guard is not automatically unsafe. However, a poor
fit may be uncomfortable or may fail to address the actual dental problem. Stop
wearing any appliance and contact a dental professional if it causes new pain,
a noticeable bite change, damaged gums, or breathing difficulty.
Caring for Your Appliance
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Costs, Cleaning, and Replacement
The total cost and lifespan of a night guard depend on the appliance design, material, dental findings, daily care, and changes to your mouth over time.
Understanding the Cost
Fees may vary based on the selected design, material, laboratory work, and appointments required. Dental benefits may cover part of the cost, depending on the plan. The clinic can provide a written estimate for you to submit to your insurer.
Cleaning and Storage
- Follow the cleaning instructions provided with the appliance.
- Allow it to dry and store it in a ventilated case.
- Keep it away from heat and pets.
- Bring it to your dental cleaning and exams so its condition and fit can be reviewed.
Repair or Replacement
There is no universal replacement schedule. The appliance may need attention if it becomes cracked, loose, rough, heavily worn, or no longer fits correctly. New fillings and dental crowns can also change its fit.
Helpful Answers
Common Questions About Custom Night Guards
Will a night guard stop me from grinding?
A night guard is primarily intended to protect the teeth and dental work. It cannot guarantee that the grinding or clenching activity itself will stop.
Can I wear a night guard over crowns?
Sometimes. The appliance must be designed around the existing dental work and checked to ensure that it fits and contacts the teeth appropriately.
What if the night guard feels uncomfortable?
A short adjustment period may occur, and professional refinements may help. Report persistent pressure, gum irritation, pain, looseness, or a change in your bite.
How often should my night guard be checked?
Bring it to regular dental visits. Arrange an earlier review if it becomes damaged, feels different, or you receive dental work that could affect its fit.
Can I sleep in a sports mouthguard?
Sports mouthguards and night guards serve different purposes. A sports guard is designed for impact protection and should not automatically replace a dentist-prescribed nighttime appliance.
Does a standard night guard treat snoring or sleep apnea?
No. A standard night guard is not a sleep apnea treatment. Snoring, interrupted breathing, gasping during sleep, or significant daytime sleepiness should be discussed with an appropriate health professional.
Know Who Will Care for You
Speak With Our Dental Team About Protecting Your Teeth
Learn more about the dentists and professionals who can assess signs of grinding or clenching and discuss whether a custom appliance is appropriate.
Meet Our Dental Team