Sports Guards and Bite Appliances in Mississauga
When damaging teeth is so easy, protecting them from harm is so important. Two common ways in which we damage our teeth are grinding and playing sports. Dr. Neil J. Gajjar and his team can help you to protect your pearly whites by make custom guards and bite appliances that help to protect your teeth from both types of damage.
Grinding/clenching
Nonfunctional teeth grinding, gnashing or clenching is known as bruxism and can occur during sleep. Clenching or grinding your teeth during sleep is a common sleep disorder which may result in complications such as wear-and-tear of teeth, fractured or chipped teeth, TMJ disorder, damaged fillings, painful headaches, and can even loosen your teeth. People with sleep bruxism will wake up with jaw pain, tooth sensitivity, problems opening their jaw, or even a morning headache.
Children with their first set of baby teeth (or with primary or mixed dentitions) are usually not recommended for bite appliances since they may prevent normal jaw growth and loss of primary teeth. If your child is a nighttime teeth grinder, talk to us about different methods available to help them overcome this habit. If you think you may have sleep bruxism, ask us about it during your next appointment so we can assess if a bite appliance is right for you. We can fit you with a special night guard that will protect your teeth from breaking down while you sleep.
Sports Guards
Sports guards still allow the wearer to talk. We recognize that communication is a necessity during a sports game. At first, wearing a sports guard may muffle your speech making it harder to speak, but before too long it will become a comfortable part of your mouth once you grow accustomed to it. Dental insurance plans may vary. Depending on your coverage, most dental plans cover a portion of a mouth guard or bite appliances. Ask us about your coverage during your next appointment.
