Clear night guard in a blue storage case used to protect teeth from grinding

Night Guards & Sports Guards – Treat TMD and Bruxism

Your teeth require protection — and not just when you’re on the field. Athletes and sports enthusiasts know all about the importance of mouthguards when playing contact sports. Hyland Dental offers customized sports guards to prevent damage.

However, sports aren’t the only threat to your teeth. Your teeth also need protection from involuntary habits, such as Bruxism. Most people are not aware that they clench and grind their teeth, often when they are asleep. If a loved one has told you, or you notice signs of wear and damage to your teeth, it’s time to wear a night guard.

Hyland Dental offers custom dental night guards to protect your teeth from damage caused by these involuntary habits.

Protect Your Teeth – Bruxism and TMD Night Guards from Hyland Dental

Clenching and grinding your teeth is an involuntary response — you don’t even know you’re doing it, until someone tells you, or you notice signs of wear on your teeth. But over time, this involuntary response can cost you your strong and healthy smile.

At Hyland Dental, we aim to protect your smile by helping you manage these involuntary behaviours. Our dentists prescribe custom dental night guards to ease clenching and grinding, and shield your teeth from wear, chipping, and breakage. With these night guards, we can also alleviate symptoms of TMD — temporomandibular joint disorder — such as pain in the joints connecting the upper and lower jaw, and difficulty moving it.

Do you clench and grind your teeth, and experience pain in the jaws? Get your custom night guard from Hyland Dental. Our guarantee is an exact fit and long-term protection.

Do I Need a Custom Night Guard? – Protection Against Bruxism and TMD

Dental appliances like night guards protect your teeth from wear and long-term damage. But not all night guards were created equal. A custom dental night guard makes all the difference compared to genetic appliances in your local drugstore:

Fit: Exact and precise fit, providing utmost comfort throughout daily and/or nightly wear
Customized treatment: Modeled according to the exact size, shape, and contours of your teeth to ensure complete protection
Durable protection: Designed to withstand long-term wear and tear from habitual, involuntary clenching of the jaws and grinding of the teeth
Long-term prevention: Regular use ensures complete protection against discomfort caused by TMD, as well as chipping, breakage, and loss of teeth from repeated grinding

Patient resting comfortably after wearing night guards for bruxism and jaw pain

Night Guards for Bruxism – Prevent Teeth Grinding and Damage

At Hyland Dental, we offer custom dental night guards designed specifically to treat bruxism. Involuntary grinding and clenching of the teeth is a medical condition that affects many adults. Most only become aware when their teeth become worn or wake up to a dull, constant headache and a sore jaw.

Many factors can cause bruxism, including stress and anxiety and hereditary factors. Without intervention, you may need implants, dentures, or a root canal to restore your damaged teeth. Here’s how a custom night guard can help:

Nightly wear: Keeps your jaws in place to prevent teeth from grinding and clenching
Convenient use: Simply place inside your mouth before bed for a comfortable sleep, alleviating common after-effects of bruxism like jaw pain and constant headache
Custom fit: Made from special thermoplastics modelled after the mould of your teeth using impressions taken by our dentists to ensure an exact fit and effective use.

Book Your Appointment To Get Your Custom Dental Night Guard

Put an end to grinding your teeth and clenching your jaw — and the risk of wear, breakage, and constant pain.

Sleep better and wake up feeling refreshed without the headaches. Get your custom night guard for bruxism and TMD at Hyland Dental.

At Hyland Dental, we are committed to a fully personalized dental treatment. We offer customized dental night guards fitted to the exact contours of your mouth to ensure an exact fit and effective treatment. Book a consultation at our dental clinic to get the night guard you need.

Tell our dentists if you experience any of the symptoms of TMD. We can diagnose the condition and offer various treatment options, including applying heat or ice packs, massages, muscle relaxants, steroids, and lifestyle changes like refraining from chewing gum. The most effective dental treatment that protects your teeth and jaws is a custom night guard.

Hyland Dental offers custom dental night guards designed to treat TMD.

We create custom-fitted night guards measured according to the contours of your teeth and the size and shape of your mouth. Your night guard fits comfortably inside your mouth to protect your teeth and alleviate the symptoms of TMD.

Night Guards: What They Fix and What They Do Not

Night guards are one of the most misunderstood appliances in dentistry. They are a shield, not a cure. Understanding the difference saves people a lot of money.

What night guards do well

They absorb the load of clenching and grinding so that enamel, fillings, crowns and veneers survive it. If you have already cracked a tooth or worn your front teeth flat, night guards stop the damage progressing.

What they do not do

They do not stop you grinding. Bruxism is driven by sleep quality, stress and sometimes airway problems, so treating those matters too. Persistent jaw pain, clicking or locking is a TMD problem and needs assessment rather than an appliance bought online.

Custom versus over-the-counter

Boil-and-bite guards from a pharmacy are bulky, wear through quickly and can shift teeth. Custom night guards are made from a scan of your own teeth, sit passively, and last years. The Canadian Dental Association makes the same point about fit and longevity.

Looking after them

Rinse in cold water, brush gently without toothpaste, and keep them dry and ventilated. Heat warps them. Bring your guard to every checkup so we can see the wear pattern, which tells us more about your grinding than you can.

If clenching has already damaged teeth, see crowns or fillings, and check the Ontario Dental Association fee guide before comparing quotes. Contact the clinic to be fitted.

How Night Guards Protect Teeth From Grinding

Most grinding happens while you are asleep, which is why patients rarely report it themselves. It is usually a partner who mentions the noise, or a dentist who notices flattened cusps, shiny wear facets on the back teeth, hairline cracks in enamel, or gum recession on the outer surfaces. By the time the wear is visible, it has been going on for years.

Partner disturbed by night-time tooth grinding, a common reason to fit night guards — Grinding is often noticed by someone else long before the patient notices it.

Why the damage matters

Enamel does not grow back. Sustained grinding shortens teeth, fractures cusps, loosens existing restorations and can crack a tooth badly enough to require root canal treatment or a crown. Replacing worn-down teeth costs many times what a guard costs, which is the whole argument for fitting one early.

What a custom guard is, and is not

A custom night guard is made from a mould of your own teeth, so it seats accurately, does not shift, and distributes force evenly. Boil-and-bite guards from a pharmacy are bulkier, wear through quickly and can encourage more clenching because they do not fit the bite. Night guards do not stop the brain from grinding; they absorb the load so the teeth do not.

Custom-made night guard appliance moulded to fit a patient's own teeth — A guard made from your own impressions seats accurately and stays put.

Jaw joint pain and headaches

Grinding and clenching often travel with temporomandibular symptoms: aching in front of the ear, clicking on opening, tightness in the temples, morning headaches, or a jaw that feels tired. Treatment is layered, starting with a guard, jaw-rest advice, heat and gentle exercises before anything irreversible is considered. We do not adjust or grind down healthy teeth as a first step.

Patient holding their jaw because of temporomandibular pain and night-time clenching — Jaw joint pain and morning headaches often point back to clenching.

Fitting, review and lifespan

Impressions are taken at the first visit and the finished guard is fitted and adjusted at the second. Expect it to feel bulky for a few nights. A guard typically lasts one to three years depending on how hard you grind, and we check it at each cleaning appointment. General guidance on jaw disorders is published by the Canadian Dental Association. If you wake with severe pain or a jaw that will not close, that is an emergency dental problem. To be assessed, book an appointment or contact us.