.

TMJ (Night Guards)

TMJ stands for the temporomandibular joint. It is the articulation between the temporal bone present in the cranium of the skull and the mandible, which is the jaw bone. You can feel your TMJbehind your cheeks, somewhere at the top. The TMJ joint is extremely important for us when we are speaking, eating, or doing almost anything that relates to the mouth. For most people, TMJ is taken for granted because it does not cause many problems. However, there is one condition which makes people sit up and take notice of their TMJ. This is the habit of grinding and clenching the teeth, usually when they are sleeping. If let be, this habit can cause them to damage and lose their teeth.

Grinding the teeth is considered to be a serious TMJ disorder not because it is painful or anything ‚- it isn‚’t ‚- but it is a sure way of damaging the teeth . As a protection, these people are prescribed night guards .

Night guards fit on the teeth. They can be put over any tooth, but the most commonly available night guards are those that fit over the molars and the premolars . This is because these are the teeth that people are prone to clench most often. There are different ways in which these night guards can be fit on the teeth. Some of them are just meant to be popped onto the teeth, while others have a much more rigid screw fitting.

There are many purposes for night guards apart from protecting people from their nocturnal TMJ problems. People who play sports use these often because of the risk of injury to their teeth during violent play. Some people with speech impairment are prescribed night guards if their teeth are the cause of their faulty speech. Night guards are also used by people who are prone to biting their tongue because of some nervous condition. Though the night guard won‚’t actually save the person from the trauma of a bitten tongue much, they can give some degree of protection and can actually make the biting process difficult for them.

You could find a night guard from three different places ‚- the drug store, the sports store and your dentist.

The night guards that are available at the drug store are the cheapest. These cost no more than $30 in most cases. These guards are also of the poorest quality. They are gummy and squishy and meant to be just placed over the teeth and fixed. Most of these night guards are also bulkier which makes using them difficult for nocturnal use. Most people do not find them to be comfortable.

Those that are expensive at the sports stores and found in many varieties, but are not recommended for TMJ dysfunctions .

The best night guards are those that a dentist can give you. Dentists can also make a customized night guard for your particular TMJ condition . These night guards are made of hardened plastic and are the smallest and hence non-obtrusive. However, most people cannot afford the night guards that are available from their dentists because they can cost several hundreds of dollars, more if they are customized.