I've had the same issues for a number of years now. I mostly grind/clench my teeth in my sleep. I discovered by sleeping on my back I no longer exhibit the same behavior. My dentist did offer a mouth guard for sleeping but also mentioned you can purchase do it yourself kits at any local pharmacy for a fraction of the cost.

If you make your own, it is probably best to mold to the upper teeth. Protectors on the lower teeth cause a gag reflex, as it gets in the way of the tongue.

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:
If you make your own, it is probably best to mold to the upper teeth. Protectors on the lower teeth cause a gag reflex, as it gets in the way of the tongue.

Patients gag a LOT more on upper appliances than lower.

quote:

Originally posted by vulrath:
Dad grinds his teeth, has for decades. He just goes to WallyWorld and gets the 99¢ mouth guards from the sporting goods section. He replaces them as needed.

I'm supposed to be wearing one too, but I can't sleep with the damned thing in so I take my chances. I've tried a few kinds of OTC mouth guards including the above (which actually provided the best results) over the years and no dice. I can't afford one through my dentist.

I've cracked several teeth over the years and my left molars, top and bottom are worn a little. I got talked into the $400 (my share AFTER insurance!)I couldn't sleep in it and it annoyed the hell out of me. I tried several others and couldn't sleep with them either. I finally gave up, and have a bunch of crowns now.

quote:

I got talked into the $400 (my share AFTER insurance!)I couldn't sleep in it and it annoyed the hell out of me. I tried several others and couldn't sleep with them either. I finally gave up, and have a bunch of crowns now.

This is my fear. The last two days I tried two different types of devices--unsuccessfully. These were local pharmacy-sold devices; one by Dentek and one by OralB.

The first was an unconventional design that consisted of plastic plates that rested between molars on each side, attached by a soft loop that sat in front of the lower incisors. That didn't work at all--the plates dug into my gums on the outside of my jaw.

The second was a more conventional guard that required heating in the microwave and biting it to form it to my upper teeth. I worked it over after forming, in an attempt to make it less obtrusive in my mouth. Didn't work.

It's not out of the question at all to spend the money necessary to have my dentist make the appliance, but I darn sure want to be able to wear it. My dentist and I are on a first name basis, and he offered to talk to me about it anytime. Guess I'll have to just express my concerns about sleeping with it and see what he says.

Like I stated before I got mine from my dentist. Seemed like a lot of bucks for something hokey. It's not. I wear it every night. And they gave me two of them. I guess they last for 3-4 yrs each. Cost me 262.00 for 2 of them. These are for the lower teeth. No gag problem at all. Sure wish I'd had done it a couple cracked teeth ago.

My dentist want charge me about $600 for one.

I used this place to have them make me one for $200 -

http://www.proteethguard.com

They send you a kit to make a mold of your teeth. It's not hard to do and then even give you and extra set of molding in case you screw up.

Then you send it back to them and in about a week or so you have a custom mouth guard.

There is NO COMPARISON between those drugstore versions and a custom guard. You can choose how thick you want the guard to be and it's molded exactly to your teeth. Very comfortable.

I've been using my first one for about 2 years now and it has helped me (1) sleep better and (2) save my teeth.

I hadn't cracked any but had ground them down a good bit.

Thank you