Night Guard

A night guard is a customised protective mouthpiece to be worn while sleeping or during the day when bruxism is experienced the most. Your Dentares dentist will use a dental putty (polyether), a self-hardening material to take impressions of your jaws. From these, a night guard is produced to your exact tooth measurements for a custom comfort fit. Edges are shaved and smoothed down for added comfort by the dentist. A night guard can be fabricated within a full business day or 24 hours.

Night guards are a highly cost-effective option to aid in the protection of our natural teeth or smile makeover restorations from Dentares Smile Clinic. Patients with bruxism are recommended to use night guards every night to protect from the effects of the stress-induced condition. The aggressive force bruxism creates can lead to the flattening & grinding of teeth surfaces, sensitivity, damage to restorations, chipping, implant failure, loss of teeth, muscle tightness in the head, neck and shoulders, headache and disrupted sleep.

Night guards are made quickly once a 3D model of a patient’s teeth measures are taken. A heated and vacuumed acrylic plastic is applied to the 3D model and appropriately trimmed for a comfortable fit.

In combination with your morning oral hygiene routine, night guards should be rinsed and brushed under cold water to remove saliva, plaque, bacteria and food particles. In addition, night guards should be soaked in one part vinegar and one part water for 30 minutes once a week. Leave on a paper towel to dry. Night guards can also be cleaned by baking soda.

It’s important not to wash or soak your night guard in hot or warm water as the temperature can change the shape and dimensions.

Orthodontic treatments change the alignment of teeth, whereas the night guard is customised to the exact positions of your current tooth positions. A night guard is purely a protective covering of the jaw against bruxism symptoms.

Aligners and retainers belong to the administration and maintenance of orthodontic treatments. Whereas night guards protect natural teeth and restorations from damage.

Aligners are clear plastic bracings that slowly change the alignment and positions of teeth with a succession of slightly differing moulds. Once the teeth are in the desired position, a retainer is given to keep the teeth from shifting position after aligner treatment.

The benefits of wearing a night guard are to substantially reduce the impact from bruxism symptoms. All our smile makeover patients receive a night guard included in their package. For more information about our smile makeover treatments and how you can benefit, head over to our smile makeover page here.