Oral Appliances
Mouth guards
A well-fitted mouthguard should be worn during any contact sports where there is a risk of injury to the face or teeth. They help to protect your teeth and jaw in case of a knock with a ball, equipment or other competitors.
At Box Hill South Dental, we can help make you a ‘custom-fitted’ mouthguard, by taking moulds of your teeth and having a unique mouthguard fitted for your teeth. These are the types of mouthguards worn by professional athletes and are proven to reduce the severity of facial injuries during competition and training. The alternative ‘boil-and-bite’ or ‘ready-made’ mouthguards can not only be uncomfortable to wear, but are also a poor substitute and offer the least amount of protection.
Dental splints
A dental splint is a harder type of mouthguard worn only at night in cases where someone grinds or clenches their teeth in their sleep. Your dentist may identify this habit by examining your teeth or facial muscles, or you may even be told by a member of your household that you grind your teeth in your sleep. The result of such a habit can be as minimal as muscle pain in your jaw and face or as severe as tooth wear or fracture. The repercussions of untreated night-time grinding can be severe and very difficult to treat. One of the simplest ways of minimising this impact is to wear a dental splint at night, to cushion the impact of grinding and help relax the muscles causing this habit.
The process of making the dental splint is not too dissimilar to making a sports mouth-guard, whereby your dentist takes a mould of your teeth at the first appointment then fits the splint at the following appointment a week or two later.
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