Custom-Fit Dental Mouth Appliances to Protect Teeth & Enhance Sleep

At District Smiles, we love to help our patients protect their teeth and improve their sleep with custom-fit appliances. This is part of our preventative care.

We have several types of mouth appliances we can use to help our patients.

Night mouth guards to prevent teeth grinding
Snore guards to reduce snoring and improve oxygenation
Sports guards to prevent injuries to teeth during sports
Special appliances to prevent migraines

Each of these mouth guards has a different design to accomplish their purpose. To custom-fit one of these guards for a patient’s mouth, we take an impression from the teeth and mouth so their guard fits them exactly. That way, our patient gets the most comfortable and effective guard possible.

Night Guards

When a person grinds their teeth at night, they are wearing down their teeth and can break fillings, crowns and bridges. A custom-fit night guard for teeth grinding prevents the teeth from meeting so there is no wear and tear. It fits over the teeth and is worn doing sleep to prevent chipping, cracking, fracturing and other damage.

We can make thinner, more flexible night guards for a person who is not comfortable wearing a mouth guard for sleeping in their mouth. We can also make thicker, more durable ones that do not need to be replaced as often. We determine the best appliance based on the patient’s preferences.
Snore Guards

A snoring mouth guard adjusts the position of the lower jaw to reduce the severity of snoring. By moving the lower jaw forward slightly, a patient’s airway becomes more open which means more air can pass through more easily. This can help a person sleep better and more quietly! These act similarly to obstructive sleep apnea mouth guards.

For many patients, a snore guard is a simple and fast method of improving their sleep. A snore guard helps make a household quieter, as well, which spouses often appreciate it.
Sports Mouth Guards

For people engaged in active and contact sports, a mouth guard to protect their teeth is essential. This is an important part of an athlete’s preventative care for their teeth. A simple sports guard can prevent damage to an athlete’s teeth if they are hit in the face by another player, a ball or any part of the playing environment.

Without a guard, teeth may require root canal therapy to enable the patient to retain them. It is far better to prevent sports-related injuries to the teeth and mouth. A custom-designed sports guard will be more comfortable and will be retained in the mouth more easily.
Migraine Appliances

These are small mouth guards that fit in the front of the mouth and keep the teeth apart slightly. It has been found that repositioning the jaws slightly and preventing contact between the teeth can alleviate some migraines that are caused by tight jaw muscles. This adjustment can also alleviate symptoms of temporomandibular disorder that can be very similar to the symptoms of a migraine.

If you are in need of any of these appliances or think you might be, please contact us. We offer our help to Washington, DC, Rockville, Bethesda and other nearby communities.