Night GuardsDentist Silverlake LA
We want to help you reach your smile goals and help you smile confidently.
Sleep & Your Oral Health
Most people think of dental care as something that happens during the day while you’re awake, like brushing, eating, and drinking. But some of the most significant changes to your teeth, jaw, and overall health can happen at night, while you’re sleeping and totally unaware of it.
At Silverlake Dental Group, we treat two of the most common- and most overlooked- sleep related conditions: nighttime teeth grinding (bruxism), and sleep apnea. Both can disrupt teeth and effect your oral and overall health.
Nighttime Grinding (Bruxism)
Teeth grinding occurs during sleep, often triggered by stress, anxiety, genetics, or an uneven bite. Your jaw can exert several times more pressure than it does during normal chewing, and often in eccentric or unnatural movements, that could crack teeth, wear down enamel, cause receding gums, and fracture fillings or teeth over time.
Some signs include:
• Flat-looking teeth
• Waking up with jaw tension or pain
• Cracks, breaks and fractures in the teeth
• Headaches, especially in the morning
• TMJ pain and stiffness
• Shifting of teeth
• Broken restorations and appliances
Sleep Apnea: More than Just Snoring
"Obstructive Sleep Apnea" is a disruptive sleeping pattern and you're not getting enough air or oxygen while you sleep. Basically the way you breathe and your airway is partially blocked by the muscles and soft tissues in your mouth and throat. Your brain picks up a decrease in oxygen, jolts you partially awake to resume breathing, before you fall back asleep. You're getting poorer quality sleep that leaves you tired. Over time, sleep apnea can have an affect on blood pressure, heart conditions, diabetes, and other systemic health issues.
Some signs include:
• Snoring - loud, and/or chronic
• Waking up with shortness of breath
• Feeling unrefreshed after a full night's sleep
• Morning headaches or dry mouth
• TMJ pain and stiffness
What can we do to help?
We begin with a comprehensive dental exam in the office. If you could benefit from a nightguard to help with teeth grinding and clenching, we may take an impression of your teeth and bite. Once this is done, we’ll have a new custom night guard made just for you. You’ll come in for a fitting so that we can make sure the new night guard fits well. You will need to wear this night guard every night in order for it to be effective at what it does. The guard provides a cushion between the top and bottom teeth, preventing the effects of grinding. We can replace the guard any time it begins to show signs of wear or damage.
If you may have been diagnosed with sleep apnea from a sleep study, mild to moderate cases of sleep apnea could be addressed with an oral appliance instead of a CPAP machine. This oral appliance is made in a similar way with a digital impression to scan your teeth and bite in order for a dental lab to fabricate a dual arch sleep apnea guard.
We would be happy to help you with any questions or be of help in any way we can. Please reach out at your convenience.
From a family of dentists with quality care
We would be happy to work with you!