Night Guards for Grinding

Do you notice having sore jaws or headaches after waking up? Have you noticed that your teeth look flat or worn down on the edges? If so, you are most likely grinding or clenching your teeth. This behavior, called bruxism, is very common and can cause serious damage to your teeth and mouth if it is not treated. Untreated clenching and grinding can lead to destructive results long-term.

What causes grinding?

Generally, anxiety and daily stress are the most common causes of isolated teeth grinding.

Chronic tooth grinding is a neuromuscular condition that necessitates further evaluation. Tooth grinding, TMJ dysfunction, and sleep apnea are highly correlated. This is why we recommend a home sleep study and a bite screening for any patient we examine that has significantly worn down teeth, to determine what is causing your grinding and how we can stop it permanently.

How can we stop your tooth grinding?

In cases of worn teeth, after the cause of the wear has been isolated, we often recommend one of three types of oral appliances: a traditional night guard, a neuromuscular night guard, or the M2 Sleep/Snore appliance.

Each type of guard is custom designed to fit your teeth precisely, and with a secure fit that you can comfortably sleep in. If you grind your teeth, let us help you stop this behavior now to prevent even more serious tooth problems down the road. Contact our office today to learn more about our methods of evaluating tooth wear, and how we stop it permanently.

Advanced Dentistry of Amarillo is proud to serve patients in Amarillo, Canyon, Dalhart and the surrounding Texas Panhandle.