At Dr. Yolanda Cruz Dentistry, we can offer custom night guard for teeth grinding. When you wake up in the morning, do you experience pain in your jaw joint? Do you have difficulty opening or closing your mouth? Does your jaw make clicking noises? Do you have sensitivity in your teeth?? Do you get frequent headaches? These could be signs of night time teeth grinding or bruxing, which is involuntary clenching of the teeth. If left untreated, you can damage your jaw joint, your natural teeth or wear out expensive dental work.

Factors That Contribute to Teeth Grinding

• Stress and anxiety
• Drug abuse
• Caffeine
• Smoking
• Alcohol
• Certain prescription medication
• Malocclusion or miss-bite
• Parkinson’s disease

There is currently no cure for bruxing but it can be controlled. If you grind your teeth during the day or at night, Dr. Yolanda Cruz will recommend a custom fitted night guard to protect your teeth from these grinding forces.  A night guard is a plastic cover that covers your teeth to deflect the hard forces of chewing. Night guards will also increase the longevity of your dental work.

Night Guard Treatment

The first step is the dental mold. Dr. Yolanda Cruz will take an impression of your teeth, and send it to a dental laboratory where a custom-fit night guard is made.  When the night guard is ready, Dr. Cruz place it into your mouth, check the fit and bite and make any necessary adjustments.  Dr. Yolanda Cruz will then instruct you on proper usage of the night guard. There are different kinds of night guards from soft materials to harder plastic materials. Dr. Cruz will recommend the material best suited for you.

If you need a custom night guard for teeth grinding, give us a call to schedule an appointment at our Toronto Downtown office 416-595-5490 .