Over the counter Night Guards

[ivan2]

My dentist suggested me to get a night guard because I am grinding my teeth. But the one he told me cost $150 and he said it's already very cheap. I googled and saw that some people were paying $300 for the custom ones. However they have several at CVS that you can fit them yourself and it only costs $30. Does anyone know if they are good enough?

 

[GenHoth]

I use a $1 mouth guard when it's bad

 

[cbrsurfr]

How important are your teeth to you? I've been using a custom dentist fitted night guard since 2002. Cheaper ones won't fit right, may wear out faster, and will likely be less comfortable than a custom one. Insurance covered most of mine. I was estimated at 25K worth of tooth damage due to grinding by 2005 if I hadn't gotten it. So far I haven't had to have any repair work done.

 

[brikis98]

My gf got a store brand mouthguard (the kind you boil and fit to your teeth) and wore it to bed. She woke up in the morning in pain, with her gums swollen and a bit bloodied. I guess because the mouthguard didn't fit perfectly, the grinding of her teeth all night caused it to grind against her gums and cut them up. Needless to say she wouldn't recommend the store brand ones 🙂

 

[HardcoreRobot]

OTC was way too thick for me. hard to sleep/breathe with. custom one much better. worth it IMO.

 

[soccerballtux]

Yeah the Publix ones are good. Don't get the one from Walmart, it fell apart on me in about 2-3 weeks.
You'll get used to the guard, the gagging sensation goes away after a couple nights use. Just stick it in when you're really tired and you'll fall asleep in spite of it. Do that a couple nights and you'll be fine.