Bruxism

Bruxism is where patients grind back and forth on their teeth.  Most of the time patients are unaware of this issue as this habit is done in the night time when they are asleep. Dr. James DeLapp and Dr. H. Candace DeLapp are Highlands Ranch dentists that use nite guard mouthguards to reduce the destruction caused by bruxism.

 

 

Severe bruxism can wear the teeth down to the gums and have no visible tooth structure.  It is not uncommon for a patient to wear 1/2 of their tooth structure or more from this habit.  The question becomes what do you do about it?  Treatment can range from

Obviously we wish not to get to the latter choice so prevention or mitigation is the key.  For many patients wearing an occlusal guard or nite guard is the answer.  It is a hard acrylic mouthguard similar to a football mouth guard but adjusted with acrylic for your bite.  It can be fabricated to be worn on the upper or lower teeth.  In the past our Highlands Ranch dentist  have made them mostly on the upper but now many are made for the lower teeth.  Wearing on the lower teeth is less bothersome.

 

If you have any questions please feel free to contact our Highlands Ranch dental office at (303) 694-9740 and schedule an appointment today.