At Bear Creek Dental, we help our patients with every aspect of their oral care, including teeth grinding. Also known as bruxism, this behavior is commonly the result of sleep apnea and can cause headaches and neck aches, as well as tooth damage. CPAP machines are the most commonly employed means of combatting sleep apnea, but they may not defend against bruxism, for which patients need an oral appliance known as a night guard.
Like the mouth guard used to protect athletes, a night guard is custom-made from an impression of the patient’s mouth. The durable material resists grinding better than enamel. But a night guard also provides the wearer with more restful sleep by keeping the jaws in a forward position. Sleep apnea is often the result of patients’ airways getting closed off during sleep, and teeth grinding is sometimes a result of the body attempting to open airways by changing jaw position. The forward position maintained by night guards is the optimal one for airflow, removing a cause of bruxism as well as preventing damage.
Tough though they are, night guards still need to be protected during the day by being kept in a hard plastic container. They and the container also need to be cleaned and dried on a daily basis.
Bear Creek Dental is located at Unit 201 10015 102 Ave, Grande Prairie, Alberta, T8v 0z8, Canada. To schedule an appointment, call 780-539-0404 or visit BearCreekDental.CA.
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