My dentist fitted me with a splint, for hundreds of dollars, in order to minimize the wear on my teeth at night. I lost this precious item somewhere along my life train, as it was mostly transparent. Decided to try the old fashioned sports mouth guard. My new “splint”, below $10, not only is more comfortable but I have the choice of colours so I can easily find it.
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Welcome to the community @Redboxtrees,
Your experience reflects that of many others, but a counterpoint is some have other dental-skeletal issues requiring more complex analysis and specific treatment.
My partner has a grinding problem and used custom splints for years. A few years ago the dentist advised her bite had changed affecting yet other teeth, and she needed a different splint. The new splint came and after ~2 years she developed TMJ. The dentist agreed the splint could have been causal although according to him, uncommon. 
(one can rarely confirm or deny such proclamations, only have trust in those making them)
Not finger pointing at the dentist who does excellent work, and not implying to diminish your good experience with generic products, just that whichever way one goes with splints,with whatever expertise is applied, it can go wrong from time to time so bears keeping atop any changes.
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Hello. Glad to hear that worked for you. The scientist in me wanted to try the generic mouth guard, following almost 4 years of the dental splint. I do like to be evidence based. Not exactly a scientific study ( which I would like to see. I know the dental lobby group is very strong but evidence for the public would be fairer.) My, pathetic, little scientific study of 4 years, in trying both methods, has been in favour of the el cheapo, generic, sports mouth guard. That’s all I’m saying. I would like to see a proper study.
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It is great you have such a good outcome with a generic splint but the field of dentistry is complex, and what works for one may not work for another. Dentists like any other service want to sell their products, and your suspicion is likely well placed that generic mouth guards might work for more people than not.
As for a test, my suspicion is that would be above the expertise Choice has, and would be more appropriate to a professional or research journal than one targeting consumer products.
Perhaps Choice staff can confirm or deny that.
I too have conducted similar ‘research’, sample of 1 
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Have a look at Google Scholar for research on bruxism treatments. (<= Click on the blue type to go to the linked info)
You can just look at more recent articles by clicking on the time choices on the left.
If you want a more specific search, just type in the new search as you would with Google.
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Have you tried a sports mouth guard as well as dental splints?
I found that, just as in the case of your wife, my “bite” pattern changed. It changed when I used the dental splint.
No, I agree, Choice has not the expertise necessary for a scientific experiment but I do wish to question the cost of these devices and relative efficacy. It’s not just rich people who suffer this condition. I remember in the old days that it was common practice to get your tonsils surgically removed!
I’m glad that the splint your wife’s dentist help develop is working for your wife.
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Hello My Orthodontist fitted my custom splint. After 2 weeks I had snapped it. It was replaced for a more durable one. My dentist has since given me Botox injections which helped significantly relax the jaw muscle…
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Advice from my dentist was try a sports mouthguard for my grinding habit. My daughter went with the fitted by dentist one at a cost of $700, mine was $10. I followed the fitting instruction quite carefully and got a great fit, so told my daughter so she tried one to see if it was any different and was surprised at the quality of the fit and comfort. $700 to take a mould, send it off (perhaps) to a dental technician who manufactures the fitting, it seems overly expensive to me.
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Good to know I have at least one in agreement with me. I DO think more people should be alerted to this. Perhaps I’ll make it my soapbox for the year but the less well off in the community should know how easy it is to help their long term dental cares relatively easily.
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Thanks for the links. They were informative and went into the science behind bruxism at great length but none seemed to experiment with the humble $10 mouth guard. I am a great fan of the KISS - keep it simple. Bicarb soda and vinegar are great cleaning agents but the big side of town tries to keep us ignorant. How many times are we duped into paying more than is necessary?
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I don’t think any of us meant to be in disagreement, only that some people have more complex issues; a $10 splint might work, it might not work, or it might cause other problems.
My message would be to have a go with the $10 one, but if any other symptoms arose, to see a specialist dentist and preferably conversant with TMJ, should be scheduled. If it costs a bit for X-rays and such and one can afford it, minimally it is peace of mind. Some dentists might go into sales mode and others might be upfront about options, so scepticism is good if uncomfortable or it does not meet one’s common sense understandings.
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