Mouth guards / splints for teeth grinding

Hi Choice, I’ve been looking into getting a mouth guard to stop or reduce teeth grinding at night. Apparently it’s pretty common. Can Choice do a review of off the shelf vs dentist-provided mouth guards? Do any of them achieve results? And is it worth the difficulty of trying to learn to sleep while wearing a mouth guard?

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A partial answer - my partner uses a dentist-provided one and it absolutely helps. It might not be obvious but even when supplied by dentists there are differing qualities (and prices) affecting mostly how long they last and the finish.

As with most medical appliances the range of applications could be overwhelming to try to test them as what works for you may not work for others, however a ‘buying guide’ could be useful to point out what is different between off the shelf and the various qualities of dentists supplied products.

My partner was not aware of the meaningful differences of what dentists provide until she nearly fell off her chair with our dentists quote and shopped around. Another dentists quoted hundreds less so she went back for a price match. In response she got an educational sales pitch, and on the second go around for comparison shopping specifying the grade she wanted all the quotes suddenly line up within $10! She stayed with our (excellent) dentist.

Unexpected, but in hindsight also expected… one conclusion was even a low priced one will do its job for a while, and possibly years, but they could be economical wise choices or false economy over many years.

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Yes, a ‘buying guide’ could be helpful. Another difference I’ve come across: people grind in different ways (e.g. some grind at the back, some at the front). It would be useful know what works for what.

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An unexpected experience has been that the custom mold eventually caused the jaw to misalign enough to cause other problems, requiring a period without use followed by a new mold. It is highly complex and person-dependent.

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Maybe this is where advice from a specialist practitioner comes in (e.g. dentist). They would be able to examine one’s mouth, the mouth’s gait and also how the jaws close to see what is the best option for the individual patient. They might be able to recommend an off the dhelf type guard or one that has to be specifically moulded/created for one’s mouth.

I expect that each mouth may be different and the guard requirements also differ (rather than a standard type fits all).

I can however see merit in testing or providing information on how to obtain a fitting mouth guard and what to look out for for either the prevention of grinding teeth or to prevent impact damage (in the case of sports mouth guards).