|
I am a grinder. Or as my dentist tells me, I have bruxism. I grind and tap all night and clench all day. I have chipped and broken teeth, broken and worn out porcelain crowns down to the metal, shattered ceramic crowns and now my dentist will only install gold crowns since I can't wear them out.
My ex brother in law was my dentist for many years after I graduated from high school and he thought he could cure me by adjusting my bite and making night guards for me to wear. I probably helped him make a dozen impressions, plaster casts and vacuum form, trim and adjust guards out of different material. Average live span was about 3 months before I chewed through one. I got nauseated if I wore them top & bottom.
For several years after the divorce, I didn't wear a guard until my new dentist started to replace all of the broken porcelain crowns with gold.
I have been making my own that I buy from "The Doctor's Night Guard. They will last quiet a while. Plop the guard into a cup of boiling waster, let cool and put it in your mouth and bite down. If it isn't comfortable, I just reheat it and adjust until it does. I am guessing many dentists would have a problem with this, but It's better than banging my teeth all night and waking my wife up. My current dentist is just happy I wear it and they only cost about $20.00.
Rinse it off and soak it in white vinegar to remove build up.
|