Do You Need a Mouth Guard to Stop Grinding Your Teeth at Night?

Mouth guards, night guards, oral splints, oh my!

What’s the difference between these dental appliance terms, and do you need one to help you stop grinding your teeth?

If you’re a bruxer (teeth grinder), there’s a good chance that you didn’t know the condition existed until you started showing the effects of jaw clenching and teeth grinding. So, you’re on a mission to find out how to stop these behaviors, and you’d prefer to do it without spending unnecessary money. Totally understandable. 

Specifically, you’d like to know how to stop grinding your teeth at night without a mouth guard. Let’s dig into that answer and more next!

Can You Stop Grinding Your Teeth Without a Mouth Guard?

First, let’s clarify the term “mouth guard.”  Although it’s often used interchangeably with the other terms mentioned above, a mouth guard is usually what we say when discussing contact sport mouth protection, aka a sports guard.

You’re more likely to need a night guard (also called an oral splint, occlusal guard, or dental guard) for sleep bruxism. These tiny devices resemble retainers but are designed to protect the biting surfaces of your teeth rather than secure them in a specific position. 

In general, bruxism can stem from lifestyle behaviors, psychosocial factors like stress, or genetics. Whether or not you need a night guard for your grinding issue depends significantly on its cause. Some causes should be discussed with your dentist or doctor, while others are easily treated with a few tweaks to your daily routine.

Psychosocial Factors

The most common reason behind bruxism is stress or anxiety. Psychosocial factors increase stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which can lead to nighttime clenching and grinding. 

Consider your personality type. Are you calm and laid back, or more competitive and hyperactive?

Those with aggressive personalities are more likely to be grinders than those who aren’t as competitive or intense.

Treatment for both causes can be as simple as adding some stress relievers to your day. Activities like yoga, meditation, deep breathing, time in nature, or journaling might be enough to reduce your stress hormone production. These stress management techniques also have long-term benefits for your overall health and can improve your relationships.

While you’re working on finding the right balance in your life, a night guard is a perfect way to minimize the damage caused by grinding.

Custom night guards (like those we offer at JS Dental Lab) slide over your teeth, fitting snugly but comfortable enough to let you sleep. They’re more affordable than professional night guards from the dentist’s office and more durable than over-the-counter, one-size-fits-all options.

Daily Habits and Medications

It could also be your lifestyle that’s causing you to brux. For example, people who routinely drink alcohol or stimulants like caffeine, smoke, or use recreational drugs have a higher risk of bruxism.

If you think one or more of these daily habits could be the reason for your bruxing, try cutting back or eliminating them altogether for a few days to see if that alleviates your symptoms. As a plus, reducing drug and tobacco use will quickly improve your dental health and curtail other health issues!

Certain medications can trigger these behaviors, too. If you’re on antidepressants, antipsychotics, or anti-anxiety prescriptions, these could be the cause of your grinding.

However, never stop taking medicine without first discussing it with your healthcare provider. They may offer alternatives or prescribe a night guard to reduce the grinding damage while keeping you on your current medication.

Temporomandibular Joint Disorders (TMDs)

In the case of TMDs, it’s often a question of whether the bruxing caused the joint disorder or if the TMD symptoms include bruxing.

In either case, the TMJ — the delicate joint connecting the jaw and skull and letting your jaw move side to side, forward, and back — is damaged. It may be displaced or inflamed. 

TMJ damage is often extremely painful. TMDs are characterized by symptoms like:

• Popping and clicking in the jaw

• Pain when moving the mouth

• Earaches

If you think you have a TMD, talk to your doctor. They can refer you to a specialist who will create a treatment plan that may include a night guard or TMJ splint and physical therapy. In more severe cases, medications or Botox injections can be beneficial.

Genetics and Sleep Disorders

If none of those factors sound like the right causes of grinding in your life, check your family history. Bruxism can be passed down in the genes, like eye color and body shape. Genetic bruxing may be something you deal with over your lifetime, but a night guard can prevent it from causing dental and muscular damage.

And if it’s not genetic, it may be that you’re grinding because of a sleep disorder like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that you don’t know you have. OSA occurs when you’re aroused between sleep stages. These arousals trigger the grinding and clenching movements. 

More importantly, though, OSA is a sleep disorder that halts your breathing for seconds at a time and should be treated by a physician. Special mouth guards can help keep your tongue in place and jaw in the correct position to eliminate the “apneas” that stop your breathing and cause grinding.

CPAP machines are often prescribed to sleep apnea patients to help regulate their breathing. This also usually stops the bruxing behaviors.

Dental Issues

Sometimes, bruxing is a sign of a dentistry issue behind the scenes. If you’ve recently had a filling or other dental work, the changes may have affected your bite, resulting in the jaw muscles working extra hard. This overexertion can lead to bruxing. 

Natural misalignments in the teeth (malocclusions) also cause bruxism. Depending on the severity of your misaligned bite, your dentist may refer you to an orthodontist for more intensive treatment.

How Night Guards Protect Your Teeth From Grinding

Bruxism happens when your jaw muscles clench unconsciously. This usually occurs in your sleep, although some people have awake bruxism. 

Either way, the clenching causes the muscles to tighten and bring your upper and lower teeth together, then move back and forth in a grinding motion. The touching teeth connect with a strong force, and the enamel wears away as they rub against each other. Sleep bruxism is more damaging than its awake counterpart since you are less likely to notice when the grinding happens and be able to stop it.

The pressure of these motions can also create other painful side effects, such as:

• Dental damage, including sensitive or loose teeth

• Jaw and facial muscle pain

• Fatigue from insomnia or restless sleep

• Earaches

• Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ pain)

• Cracked enamel

• Morning headaches

• Damage to dental restorations

• Jaw clicking or popping

• Neck pain

• Difficulty opening or closing the jaw

• Scalloped tongue

When you wear a night guard, the appliance is made of flexible but rigid material, like acrylic. It slides over your upper or lower teeth and prevents them from touching.

Because the teeth can’t connect, the jaw muscles don’t gain the traction necessary to cause erosion. So, even if you’re grinding in your sleep, your teeth are safe from damage. Over time, your jaw muscles relax and stop clenching, which reduces symptoms like headaches and facial and neck pain.

What Are Some Natural Ways to Stop Grinding Your Teeth?

Unless you have a medical or dental reason for bruxing, mouth guards and other natural home remedies are often effective enough to stop the oral health damage from spreading.

Consider these frequently helpful solutions to get control of your bruxism symptoms:

• Night guards: As mentioned earlier, this is the first line of defense and the easiest way to stop your teeth from grinding. Keep in mind that not all mouth guards are designed the same. (For best results, check out our JS Dental Lab quiz to determine which guard is right for you.)

• Muscle stretching: Jaw stretching exercises increase the jaw’s flexibility and strengthen the muscles, which can reduce discomfort and swelling. 

• Meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises: By controlling your breathing and racing thoughts, you can get a hold of the stress hormones that trigger bruxism.

• Supplements and vitamins: Research connects sleep bruxism with certain vitamin deficiencies. To counter your symptoms, talk to your doctor about adding magnesium, calcium, or Vitamins B5, C, D, and A to your daily diet.

Other changes that could help may take a little more time to get used to as a regular habit. For example, adjusting your bedtime routine to create a calm, quiet environment at least 30 minutes before sleep is recommended to improve sleep quality.

Spending time in nature improves your Vitamin D levels and boosts happy hormones like dopamine and serotonin (which are also elevated with exercise). 

Making major lifestyle changes like breaking addictions takes time, too. Be patient with yourself, and consider working with a professional if you need more help to stop smoking or quit using a substance.

Sometimes, even breaking the habit of chewing gum or biting on hard foods or objects takes therapy. But the relief that comes from eliminating jaw pain and sleeping better can be its own reward.

The Bottom Line: The Right Mouth Guard Could Help

Learning why you’re bruxing isn’t always an immediate thing.

Maybe you’ve quit drinking caffeine or added exercise to your daily routine for weeks, and you’re still grinding away at night. What happens then?

While you’re trying to figure out the cause, the damage to your mouth continues. A night guard reduces the contact between your upper and lower teeth, minimizing the damage while you find answers.

Don’t let your teeth grinding and jaw clenching destroy your sleep, your day, or your oral health. Let our professionals at JS Dental Lab guide you as you choose the right custom-made night guard to stop grinding your teeth at night.