According to the American Dental Association, approximately ninety-five percent of Americans deal with bruxism at one point in their lives. Bruxism is the habitual clenching and grinding of the teeth, typically occurring during sleep. Mouth guards are the first line of defense against bruxism, but can be distracting and cumbersome. The following are some tips from our dentists in Houston about how to make wearing mouth guards at night easier.
• Talk to our expert in mouth guards in Houston about using a thin material for your guard, such as Invisalign. This will mean less space is taken up in the mouth and there won’t be as much foreign material to get used to. After some time, you will get more accustomed to the device, and can move on to a thicker material.
• See if you can have both an upper and lower mouth guard made. This way you can try both and see which one is more comfortable for you, or switch off between the two as desired.
• Many individuals fall asleep in five minutes. Keeping this in mind, be sure to put on your guard just before you go to sleep so you won’t have as much time to think about it.
• Try it every night for thirty nights. After this amount of time, wearing it will likely become a habit. It is impossible to get used to anything when only doing it every once an while, so aim for consistency.
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