Article At A Glance
- Dental guards can protect teeth during sports and sleep.
- Types of Dental Guards: Athletic, Bruxism, Custom, Pre-made
- Dental Guards’ benefits include decay prevention, sleep protection, and improved hygiene.
Do you want a way to protect your teeth while you play sports or sleep? You could benefit from Chicago dental guards. Affinity Dental Chicago offers a wide variety of dental protection solutions that help your teeth stay healthy and last longer.
What Are Dental Guards?
Dental guards consist of a plastic device you slip over your teeth to prevent various types of damage. You may know about them if you play a contact sport like wrestling or football, but dentists also use them to help with teeth grinding, TMJ disorder, and other conditions.
Types of Dental Guards
If you want a dental guard, you can choose from among the following options:
- Athletic dental guards: Athletes use these dental guards to protect their teeth while they compete. High-contact sports like boxing, martial arts, wrestling, and hockey often require players to wear them.
- Bruxism night guards: Bruxism is the medical term for grinding or clenching teeth. It often leads to TMJ, and a mouth guard can protect the teeth from damage and help keep your jaw aligned and loose.
- Custom: Invest in a custom-fit dental guard for the best results. It provides the most comfortable fit and offers the greatest protection.
- Pre-made: If you want to save a little money, you can buy an over-the-counter dental guard designed to fit everyone. It won’t feel as comfortable as a custom one.
Understanding the Importance of Personalized Dental Guards
Why should you use Chicago dental guards?
Tooth Decay Prevention
You should never wear a pre-made dental guard while you eat, as it might not fit as well. However, if you have a custom one, you can wear it while you eat and drink to help protect your teeth from decay.
Avoid eating chewy or sticky foods while you wear the guard, much like you would with braces. Also, ensure you thoroughly wash the item after every meal.
Protection While You Sleep
If you purchase bruxism night guards, you can have protection while you sleep. Certain people remain prone to grinding or clenching their teeth at night when they cannot control the issue.
Over time, grinding your teeth can cause severe damage, and clenching them can cause painful disorders like TMJ or muscle tightness.
Oral Hygiene Improvement
Because Chicago dental guards can prevent tooth decay and keep a significant amount of plaque from building up on your teeth, they make oral hygiene much easier. You won’t spend as much time brushing or flossing because you won’t have to worry about reaching every nook and cranny. However, you should still brush and floss daily.
You also will require fewer dental visits or emergencies. Because they help keep your teeth clean, dental visits will remain routine, and you won’t worry about fillings or extractions from major cavities.
Reduced Pain
A perfectly fitted dental guard can help you reduce pain in a few ways. First, it prevents you from grinding and clenching your teeth, which is a major source of chronic jaw pain.
Secondly, it helps you avoid more severe sports injuries. Don’t underestimate the pain of losing a tooth when you experience impact damage from an opposing player.
Finally, it helps you avoid the pain associated with tooth decay. If you’ve ever experienced the throbbing pain of an infected tooth, you know how much it can hinder your ability to live your daily life.
Additional Read: Feeling Dental Anxiety? Explore Pain free Dentistry.
Can Bruxism Night Guards Help with Sleep Apnea?
Bruxism night guards can help treat sleep apnea. If you experience this condition, reach out to your doctor or dentist to determine if you’d benefit from a Chicago dental guard.
How do dental guards help with apnea? Doctors aren’t sure, but multiple studies show that, in some patients, a night guard can offer the same level of treatment as a CPAP machine.
Your Guide to Find the Best Dental Guards in Chicago
How can you find the best dental guard for you? Consider the following factors:
- Mouth size: Your mouth and face size can determine whether you’d benefit most from a full-face, half-face, or bit guard.
- Usage: You’ll require a different type of mouth guard depending on if you’re using it for sports, protection while you sleep, or both. The type of sports you play can also determine the exact type of guard you need, and you may require multiple guards if you play more than one sport.
Affinity Dental Chicago Provides Custom-Fit Dental Guards
When you want Chicago dental guards that fit comfortably, and you can rely on to protect your teeth, reach out to Affinity Dental Chicago. With excellent bedside manners and skilled dental professionals, they’ll spend time creating the perfect custom dental guard.
To book an appointment, call 773-904-7079.
