Why Wearing Night Guards Help

You might see a lot of people during football and basketball games wearing mouth guards. Obviously, that’s because it’s a contact sport, and oftentimes this is how many athletes lose their teeth. But did you know that night guards actually can help with dental health. If you grind your teeth or suffer from sleep apnea, it might be good to consider getting one of these guards. You definitely will want to know more about this if you have either of these conditions, and this article will discuss how a night guard can help.

Bruxism is typically called teeth grinding. We’ve all done this at one point or another, but some people do it more often than usual. If you do it during the night, you might not even realize that you do it, and that’s how teeth, jaw aches, and headaches, along with TMJ, start to occur. The problem is, that most people don’t even know that they do it, and it’s because it happens at night. The best way to treat this is essentially getting a night guard that helps to prevent most of the clenching and tightening. This can cause a lot of problems for you, but if you get a custom mouth guard, you’ll be able to protect your teeth from further damage.

Then there is sleep apnea. Have you ever heard of people snoring, where they wake up with a sore throat, or a dry throat, or feel fatigue during the day? If you get up to go to the bathroom at night, you actually might have this condition, and it’s important to get help immediately if you do. Sleep apnea is something that interferes with the air that you take in, which in turn actually can cause a lot of problems. Think about it, if the air flow is stopped, you’re not getting enough, and you might end not breathing for as much as 400 times a night. That’s a bit terrifying in terms of numbers, but the side effects of this can actually be life threatening as well. You’re not breathing, and that’s something that can be dangerous.

Now, some people, if their apnea is so bad that they need a machine to help, do get a CPAP machine to assist with this, which keeps the nasal passages open. But, sometimes night guards are another treatment to help with sleep apnea. Essentially, what this does, is that it actually shifts your bite in a slight manner, not a whole lot, but enough to actually allow you to breathe through your nose, which in turn will increase the airflow, and allow you to breathe normally. This is something that can help you get the most restful sleeping that you can get, and if you’re someone that just feels tired and drained all the time, this could be something that you should consider.

Both bruxism and sleep apnea are conditions that do need to be treated. With bruxism, the night guard might also have orthodontic treatment right behind it, since somethings, bruxism interferes with your bite, and the alignment of the teeth. The best way to find out if you need one of these, is to see your dentist for further help.

If you’re having trouble sleeping in whatever way, the first thing that you should do is go see your dentist to make sure you’re not diagnosed with either of these conditions, the same with the doctor as well if you have sleep apnea. If you do have either of these conditions you should then consider getting a night guard to help with this. There is nothing wrong with a night guard, in fact it can definitely help you have a lot better response to this during the night. It definitely is something to consider, and if you feel like you need one of these, you owe it to yourself to go to the dentist right away, to get the treatment that you need, and if you do need a bit of assistance, you can certainly get this, and so much more with their help, and that in turn can make things much easier for you, and better as a result too.