Mouthguards

[mtncpapblue]

Anyone use mouthguards. My doc suggested to try out a cheap sports type, rather than forking out the $500+ custom jobbies at a dentist.
For me it would be to prevent biting my tongue.
So far the mask seems to reduce this, but I will need to have more experience to be sure.

[nanwilson]

Yup, just a cheap boil and bit like the kids wear for sports. Walmart or any sports store have them, just follow the directions on the package and go to it. It keeps me from grinding my teeth and breaking them, I have had two that had to be taken out I broke them so badly and I have had 3 that the dentist was able to repair . I'm sure it would keep you from biting your tongue too...kinda hard to bite something when you've got one set that are soft plastic .

[BigLou]

I use the "Doctors" Night Guard and have found that it has decreased my mouth leaks due to the suction that keeps my mouth closed more than if I did not wear it. It is a little tricky to fit since you have to boil it, though I have put my chinstrap to rest.......for now. You can get it at Walmart/Walgreens for about 20 bucks. I just hate anything on my face when I sleep and that why I use a nasal pillow system. It's not bad.

Lou

[Dennis de NorthWet]

Anyone use mouthguards. My doc suggested to try out a cheap sports type, rather than forking out the $500+ custom jobbies at a dentist.
For me it would be to prevent biting my tongue.
So far the mask seems to reduce this, but I will need to have more experience to be sure.

After my dentist urging me to get a mouth guard made for a bit over 30 years I finally had him do it. My problem was grinding my teeth, and I could see they were wearing down. I've was using the guard prior to starting with a CPAP. Occasionally I forget to put the guard in, and have noticed no difference one way or another with CPAP use.

I had previously tried the do-it-yourself guards, and found them way too bulky for comfort. Kind of like trying to sleep with a hockey puck in my mouth. The dentist made guard is bulky enough, but MUCH less so and no comfort issues. It snaps firmly in place on the upper teeth with no tongue interference. I can still talk or take a drink of water. Chewing Tums however does not work so well. Getting it was one of those things I wish I had done a whole bunch sooner. Four or five hunner is a lot of loot, but just go out and price a new set of real teeth.

Prior to getting my guard I was also thinking as the other posters on this thread that for what you ended up with, the price was a rip off. After going through the process it seemed to me that on the basis of how much chair time the dentist put in making impressions, his cost in getting the thing produced by a dentureist, and fine tuning the fit of the thing afterwards, he was probably doing well to break even on the deal. So, yes, expensive, but for me it works a bunch better than the Doc's or sports type and my teeth aren't getting any shorter. For me, another "get what ya' pay for" thing.

YMMV,
Dennis

[sylvie]

After going through the process it seemed to me that on the basis of how much chair time the dentist put in making impressions, his cost in getting the thing produced by a dentureist, and fine tuning the fit of the thing afterwards, he was probably doing well to break even on the deal. So, yes, expensive, but for me it works a bunch better than the Doc's or sports type and my teeth aren't getting any shorter. For me, another "get what ya' pay for" thing.

YMMV,
Dennis

I don't get this. My dentist charged me $600, his assistant took maybe 15 or 20 minutes making the impressions, I went in to pick it up and the dentist ran warm water over it, I put it in my mouth and it fit, and went home. It seems to be a soft type of plastic which only fits on the upper teeth like yours. I've never been back to see him over this. Seems to me he made out quite handedly. Maybe you have a hum-dinger of of a mouthguard, which requires all the tweaking? Could there be other types of mouthguards from the dentist than the one I described?

[human_bipap_user]

I grind my teeth and bought one of the 20 dollar shock doctor mouth guards which works fine. I can't see myself shelling out hundreds of dollars for essentially the same thing.

[Dennis de NorthWet]

After going through the process it seemed to me that on the basis of how much chair time the dentist put in making impressions, his cost in getting the thing produced by a dentureist, and fine tuning the fit of the thing afterwards, he was probably doing well to break even on the deal. So, yes, expensive, but for me it works a bunch better than the Doc's or sports type and my teeth aren't getting any shorter. For me, another "get what ya' pay for" thing.

YMMV,
Dennis

I don't get this. My dentist charged me $600, his assistant took maybe 15 or 20 minutes making the impressions, I went in to pick it up and the dentist ran warm water over it, I put it in my mouth and it fit, and went home. It seems to be a soft type of plastic which only fits on the upper teeth like yours. I've never been back to see him over this. Seems to me he made out quite handedly. Maybe you have a hum-dinger of of a mouthguard, which requires all the tweaking? Could there be other types of mouthguards from the dentist than the one I described?

Seems our guards are of different material. The guard I have a a hard clear plastic/resin of some sort. Likely the same stuff that dentures are made from. It has wire reinforcement internally and a couple of wire nubs that clip onto my upper rear teeth. The impression part took extra long for me in that the mold they used the first try didn't work all that well, but even so I would have been there at least a half hour. When the thing came in the dentist spent quite a while grinding on the thing so that it fit comfortably against my upper and lower teeth, allowing me to close my jaws almost as far as normal. Seems I was in the chair well over an hour for that visit. The price includes any future adjustment needed due to tooth changes. I think I paid $450 a few years back.

Got to say that my dentist is a perfectionist and has given the best care and results of any I have ever used. My only gripe is that he does not use nitrous oxide. Oh well. He is a master with the needle.

Dennis

[jencat824]

I tried, then chewed through the boil & bite version from the drugstore. I grind my teeth terribly. Previous dentist then put filling material on my teeth to 'build them up' process was expensive and painful. After several years of this, I found a new dentist, closer to home.

My new dentist made this guard for me, it is small, just goes over front teeth, is a very hard plastic resin, it does the trick! No more grinding, tongue biting, biting the inside of my mouth, etc. Ask your dentist about a guard for your front teeth, mine was inexpensive (about $50) compared to hundreds of dollars. They did have to take impression, he sent this to his lab & a week later my itty, bitty piece of hard plastic arrived.

Please don't let kooky dentist 'built up' your teeth, this is useless and costs a bunch of money for nothing. Also erodes original enamel resulting in caveties.