Custom made nightguard versus storebought?

Question

My dentist says he see evidence that I grind my teeth and that if we do nothing - there is risk I could break off part or all of some top teeth. So he recommends a "nightguard" - a thing that looks kind of like a boxer's mouthguard. The cost? About $800 after they made a cast of my teeth and mold the thing. (Yow!) Walking through the local grocery store drugs isle I saw they sell generic nightguards for just 25 bucks. My question: is a custom made $800 nightguard really going to do me much more good than the $25 one from Safeway??

Hi Alanbp. Thanks for you comments. No. My wife has never noticed a grinding sound and my teeth are not sore and my jaw is never sore. My dentist was pointing to a wear pattern on a couple teeth near the front/right. And he said that some gum receeding on two or three upperrights was being caused by the teethgrinding. I do have some popping in my jaw if I open wide. But I've had that for years - 20 or longer.

Answer 1

Just to add to the discussion on fees... I have two levels of service in "night guards." One is the generic night guard and it costs $425. I say "generic," but even this appliance is made using a bite registration made at a predetermined open OVD in with the condyles in centric relation. I NEVER take impressions and write an Rx saying, "Make night guard."

The other type I make is more of an orthotic appliance. It takes a few visits to actually complete the thing. It starts out life similar to the NTI Plus, but after a week of 24/7 wear, I add the posterior bite plane. The design will allow the mandible to self-locate for correct centric and then provide stable posterior contact with anterior guidance. This is a multi-visit procedure. I usually locate and adjust away the first few interferences to make centric occlusion more coincident with centric relation at one of the follow-up visits. There is no additional charge for this. My fee for this appliance and related visits is presently $800.

What I'm getting at is that we really don't know what type of night guard Mainer is getting.

And in case you have not guessed by now, I am not a big advocate of store-bought, one size fits all night guards. IF you just happen to fit the average that the appliance was designed to fit, you might get away with it. There's one that has a pad on each side for the molars to bite on. The pads are joinded by some kind of an arch to stablize them. It costs more like $60. If anything store-bought would stand a chance of fitting without doing damage, I think this would be it.

Answer 2

I wouldn,t pay $800 for a mouthguard and I,m a dentist ! You certainly could try an over the counter type but it may not fit as well or be as comfortable at nite . Are your jaws sore or tired in the morning ?Does any one hear you grinding at nite . The condition is called bruxism and if severe can be destructive to the dentition but in that case you should have some symptoms of aching teeth and tired jaw muscles upon waking .

Answer 3

Wow! $800?! I'm a big believer in custom nightguards, but that does seem a bit pricey---my office only charges $400. So, I suggest you shop around...nothing wrong with that. I don't think you'd like the kind from the store. They are big and bulky and I've found that people don't wear them. Those who have the custom made ones do wear them. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 4

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Answer 5

I would go with the custom one. A generic one might cause your teeth to shift around and then you would be back for some procedures costing much, much more.

My wife wears one. She did something I have never heard of anyone doing before, she actually talked her orthodontist down on his prices and got a much better deal. Maybe you can do the same thing. Just tell him you're not going to pay that much and quote the price for the generic one. Make him sell you on the custom one, you don't have to just take what they offer.

Answer 6

Mine cost $400. My Dentist suggested not to use the store bought ones as they are soft and one tends to "chew" these and can actually shift the teeth and cause damage by itself. I would go with a professional guard but I would not pay $800.

Answer 7

i would go for the one from the store.you put them in boiling water then mold them to your teeth
they are the same thing as bleach trays
and mouthguards for sports
my orthodontist says they are all the same
just the price varies
did you ever notice how we are all so terrified of the dentist that he can talk us into almost anything?

Answer 8

i used to be a dental assistant. i would go with the custom made guard but $800 is ridiculous! and you can tell your dr that! more like $300 at the most!