Treatment Options

Dental night guards for teeth grinding treatment

The most common treatment suggested by dentists to cure bruxism is a custom-made specially-fitted dental night guard that is worn during sleep to prevent unconscious teeth grinding.

A dental night guard is a thin horseshoe-shaped appliance made of hard plastic. The night guard fits between your upper and lower teeth, to prevent further dental damage to teeth by absorbing the force of clenching or grinding. Besides preventing the two sets of teeth from grinding against each other, night guards also aid in changing the patient’s behavior.

At Vancouver Sleep Solutions, we can make you a custom-fitted night guard by taking accurate impressions of your upper and lower teeth which are used to create a model of how your teeth fit together. Based on this model, a customized heat-processed hard plastic nightguard is formed. It is very important for the success of the bruxism treatment that the night guard fits perfectly.

Another type of appliance used for the treatment of bruxism is the NTI Tension Suppression System. The NTI device is much easier to wear as it gets attached to the front two teeth only, keeping the back teeth (molars) completely separated. The purpose of a night guard or NTI is to stop this destruction of tooth structure right away and reduce jaw clenching and teeth grinding.

Normally you need to wear the night guard each night for it to work properly. It takes a few nights to get adjusted to, but most people who use night guards for teeth grinding quickly get used to them.

CPAP Therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

If untreated sleep apnea is the cause of your bruxism, then the consistent use of a CPAP machine may prevent your teeth grinding. Your over night at-home sleep test for bruxism will indicate the presence of sleep apnea as well. Read more about sleep apnea here.