[amazon.ca] The Doctor's Advanced Comfort NightGuard - $20.62

Been looking to get something like this for a while. I'll try this one out. Thanks OP!

Triad wrote: ↑ Seems cheaper and more viable to go to sportchek or a sporting place to get a mouth gaurd they run from $5+
same functions, cheaper and no need $35 amazon free ship

Sport mouthguards tend to be a lot less comfortable and much bulkier - if the "custom fitting" piece of this actually works as described then it is likely worth the premium

This of course assuming you don't have insurance that covers a custom made mouth guard from your dentist to begin with

Triad wrote: ↑ Seems cheaper and more viable to go to sportchek or a sporting place to get a mouth gaurd they run from $5+
same functions, cheaper and no need $35 amazon free ship

Dentist here, the night guard and sports guards are for different applications. Sports guards are meant to dissipate blunt trauma and guide it to the posterior dentition.

Night guards are designed to prevent damage to the teeth resulting from chronic parafunction (clenching and grinding). The night guard goes through many reiterations of heavy occlusal forces, hence the biting surface should be hard.

And then there are other mouthpieces for different applications like an anterior deprogrammer like a Lucia jig for TMJD.

This only works if you sleep in a TARDIS.

lobt wrote: ↑ Dentist here, the night guard and sports guards are for different applications. Sports guards are meant to dissipate blunt trauma and guide it to the posterior dentition.

Night guards are designed to prevent damage to the teeth resulting from chronic parafunction (clenching and grinding). The night guard goes through many reiterations of heavy occlusal forces, hence the biting surface should be hard.

And then there are other mouthpieces for different applications like an anterior deprogrammer like a Lucia jig for TMJD.

My dental office suggested a sports guard as a cheaper alternative to a night guard for my night grinding. Would one of these be better for protecting my teeth or is is only a comfort/appearance thing?

As an aside, for those looking to buy, Shoppers Drug Mart sells their Life brand version of this for about the same price everyday ($20-25). I looked at them briefly before settling on a 3M sports guard for $3 from Dollarama.

Glad the dentist said something cause I paid 420 for my night guard

NG wrote: ↑ My dental office suggested a sports guard as a cheaper alternative to a night guard for my night grinding. Would one of these be better for protecting my teeth or is is only a comfort/appearance thing?

As an aside, for those looking to buy, Shoppers Drug Mart sells their Life brand version of this for about the same price everyday ($20-25). I looked at them briefly before settling on a 3M sports guard for $3 from Dollarama.

Take the following advice with a grain of salt. The oro-fascial complex is a very enigmatic system, it's often hard to establish the etiology of a clenching/grinding disease. The current therapies for bruxism aim mainly to control the consequences (excess wearing away of teeth) rather than to address to the cause of the problem.
We know that there is strong correlation (not causal) of sleep bruxism with childhood sleep bruxism and GERD, and moderate correlation for chronic migraine, tinnitus, snoring, sleep apnea, and psychosocial factors like smoking, alcohol intake, caffeine consumption. 2017 Systematic review on Etiology of Bruxism

TL:DR:
- the current literature points toward the direction that the amount of wear is not always related to nocturnal bruxism activity. If you are not a sleep bruxer, a nightguard isn't going to help you
- if you are a sleep bruxer, hard thermoplastic nightguards are the current recommendation for nightguard materials. Softer materials (like the one OP posted, or the sports guard, or dollarama guards) may actually exasperate the grinding. Although your teeth are protected, there could potentially be harm to the TMJ and surrounding fascial muscles.

IMO, softer nightguards do play a role in the diagnosis and temporary treatment of sleep bruxism, but if your sleep bruxism is severe and warrants intervention, you will wear through a sports guard or soft thermoplastic material (like these ones) in weeks/months. You will require further treatment (seek a hard acrylic/thermoplastic material. Ercoloc, Talons are decent but proprietary materials). Given your particular set of signs and symptoms, may explore the route of occlusal splints, physiotherapy, drug therapy, intramuscular botox injections, behavioural relaxation techniques, or whatever ends up working for you.

If you see light/moderate wear marks wearing pre-made soft thermoplastic nightguards and don't experience muscle tenderness/fatigue or headaches, they're alright for you. I'd also doubt that your sleep bruxism is your primary cause of excessive tooth wear. At this point, I start looking into daytime habits like acid reflux from GERD, occupational (common in weight lighters, athletes construction workers, soldiers/law enforcement, professions that are exposed to higher than normal air acidity or constant loud noises).

Disclaimer: don't take this as legal medical/dental advice. Do be careful out there because treatment protocols are routinely recommended without a thorough understanding of the disease. There isn't overwhelming evidence to support one treatment protocol over another, and the influence of superstar dentists/clinical advisors have taken over the role of evidence-based treatments.

Thanks, OP. I have a custom mouthguard for my bruxism, but wouldn't mind trying this one out. Could be useful to carry around for shorter periods of time (i.e., travelling).

Thanks OP. Like diav, I already have a custom for my bruxism, but this should come in handy as well.