Are you one of the millions of people who wake up with jaw pain?

Waking up with jaw pain may mean that you're suffering from Bruxism. Bruxism is a condition in which you clench, grind or gnash your teeth during the day or night. Serious long-term damage to your upper or lower teeth can result from grinding and clenching your teeth at night. Thus, it's not something to ignore.

There are a variety of different solutions to stop your teeth grinding habit. You may want to make some lifestyle changes to reduce the severity and frequency of your teeth grinding. However, you can also protect your teeth by using a dental night guard like a custom fitted mouth guard. Bite guards are also an effective solution to protect your teeth while you sleep. When searching for tips on how to stop teeth grinding and clenching, it’s important to be aware of different solutions and their benefits as well as what to look for in a bite guard for sleeping.

Why Buying a Bite Guard Is Beneficial

Bite guards help improve your oral health by protecting your teeth while you sleep. Many people are surprised when they go to the dentist for a checkup and find out that they have been grinding their teeth. Rather than waiting for wear on your teeth, you might decide that you want to use a night bite guard to be on the safe side. Ignoring bruxism will cause detrimental damage to your teeth.

Also commonly referred to as an occlusal guard, nightguard, or bite splint; There are many worthwhile benefits of using a bite guard while you sleep. Some of them may surprise you.

Decrease Headaches

Grinding and clenching your teeth can cause headaches because it tightens your jaw, ears, and head muscles. If you wake up with surges of pain in your head, then you've probably been experiencing bruxism while sleeping. Bite guards reduce the pressure between your teeth and jaw, which in turn minimizes or prevents headaches as well as jaw pain.

Reduce & Prevent Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Disorder

Bruxism could lead to TMJ disorder because it can damage the muscles and ligaments in your jaw. Another way that bruxism may cause TMJ disorder is by causing a jaw imbalance. When your teeth are worn down or chipped, your jaw may no longer rest in alignment. Temporomandibular Joint Disorder is a condition in which your jaw joint has dysfunction. Signs of this health condition are jaw pain, clicking of the jaw, difficulty chewing, and headaches.

Improve Sleep Quality

Bruxism usually interferes with your sleep quality. Discomfort or pain while you sleep interferes with restorative sleep. Gnashing your teeth also distracts your body from getting proper rest. Bite guards encourage your chewing muscles to relax, which reduces and prevents bruxism. You can thus get deeper, more restorative sleep.
If you wake up feeling groggy despite sleeping the recommended hours, something is interfering with your sleep quality. It's worth investigating what it is for the sake of your health. Poor quality sleep negatively affects other aspects of life and your mental health. It also increases the risk of car accidents.

Protect Your Teeth

As the name infers bite guards are made to guard your teeth. This kind of oral protection is designed to protect your teeth from chips, wear, and long-term teeth damage. They also help prevent damage to fillings and the nerves in your teeth. Untreated bruxism can ultimately lead to weakened teeth, cracked teeth, tooth loss, sensitive teeth, damaged nerves, and other problems.

Stop Snoring

A benefit of night guards that not many people know of is they can prevent you from snoring. One of the causes behind snoring is tension in your jaw. Clenching your jaw can interfere with proper breathing, which results in snoring.

Use Your Bite Guard Correctly to Reap the Benefits

For a bite guard to work effectively, it needs to fit your teeth properly. It’s also important to note that you must follow instructions on how to use it correctly. Each person's teeth are slightly different in shape and size which is why custom-fitted bite guards are preferable to semi-custom-fitted guards. You should use a custom-fitted night guard to adequately protect your teeth and jaw. This doesn't have to be expensive. With ClearClub, you can send us an impression of your teeth with the kit that we mail you. We then deliver your custom dental night guard back to you, directly to your door.

If you find that a bite guard is uncomfortable when you start using it, be patient and give it a few weeks. You will likely adjust to having it in your mouth. You can speed up the adjustment period by wearing the night guard during the day for short periods. However, while it’s extremely rare for the custom night guards at ClearClub to fit uncomfortably, we offer a guarantee on all of our products so your purchase can be hassle-free and worry-free!

Keeping your bite guard clean prevents introducing harmful bacteria to your mouth. It’s important to always rinse immediately after each use. Then, gently brush the bite guard with a soft toothbrush. Don't use toothpaste to brush the device, you can use anti-microbial soap. However, mainly the bristles are what is needed to remove any stubborn plaque and debris. Toothpaste could damage the night guard. To prevent mold or bacteria from growing, let your night guard fully dry before placing it back inside its case. Make sure to set it on a clean surface for drying too.

It’s essential to ensure your bite guard case is kept clean too. Hand wash the case a few times a week and leave it open for drying before you close it. Look out for wear and tear. Once your bite guard begins to show signs of wear, you need to replace it. ClearClub offers a renewal plan that can deliver a fresh guard to your door every 3,4, or 6 months!

Night Bite Guards: Are They Safe?

Bite guards must be made of safe, quality materials. Not all night guards on the market are effective or safe. Don't use night guards that are made of latex, phthalates, or BPA plastic. Even if you're not allergic to latex, continuous exposure to the material increases your risk of an allergy. Thus, you should make sure that a bite guard doesn't have latex before buying it.

Research on how phthalates affect humans is ongoing. However, phthalates are known to interfere with the ability to reproduce in animals.

High exposure to BPA plastic is linked to:

• Diabetes
• Premature puberty
• Hormonal changes
• Heart disease
• Infertility
• Obesity
• Mental health disorders

Safe materials for night guards are EVA, acrylic, thermoplastic copolyester, and MMA (methyl methacrylate). ClearClub bite guards are FDA-approved and don't contain latex, phthalates, or BPA plastic. We have the only FDA-approved night guard on the market.

A Night Bite Guard bought from a dentist is often a quality guard made of quality materials and custom fitted to be effective. However, guards from a dentist are typically expensive. The average cost of getting a night guard from the dentist is $500+. ClearClub provides safe, effective products for $95+. Dentists charge much more, not because the products are superior, but because they need to cover the costs of their staff, office space, and time, in addition to the product itself. ClearClub dedicates our time and energy to producing high-quality, inexpensive night guards, so we can offer more affordable prices. You'll receive a custom-fitted product from us, just as you would from the dentist.

ClearClub's custom night guards are the best option in terms of quality, effectiveness, and affordability. To shop our Custom Night Guards simply click the Shop Now button below!

Your Search for the Right Bite Guard Can End Now

Shopping for an over-the-counter bite guard is difficult because many manufacturers don't tell you what materials the product is made of, or if they are using harmful materials. ClearClub is the only FDA-approved bite guard manufacturer that you can find in the U.S. We have a few options in thickness as well. Take our quiz to quickly figure out which of our night guards is best for you. It's important to make an informed decision when buying a night guard because the wrong one can do more damage to your oral health.

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