CLINICAL SERVICES

Night Guards & Sleep Appliances

TWO DIFFERENT APPLIANCES, TWO DIFFERENT PROBLEMS

A guard for grinding. An appliance for snoring.

They look broadly similar and people often use the words interchangeably, but they do opposite jobs. A night guard protects your teeth from the force of grinding and clenching. A sleep appliance holds your lower jaw slightly forward so your airway stays open while you sleep. Wearing the wrong one does nothing for the problem you actually have.

Dr. Singh makes both here in our Warren office, from digital scans rather than putty impression trays.

Night guards for grinding & clenching

Bruxism — grinding or clenching, usually at night and usually without knowing it — wears enamel flat, cracks fillings and crowns, and is a common cause of morning jaw ache and headaches. A custom guard absorbs that load instead of your teeth.

Signs worth mentioning to us:

  • Waking with a sore jaw, tight temples or a dull headache
  • Teeth that look shorter, flattened or newly chipped
  • Increasing sensitivity to cold with no decay to explain it
  • A partner who hears the grinding

Oral appliances for snoring & sleep apnea

A mandibular advancement appliance sits over your teeth like a retainer and holds the lower jaw slightly forward, which keeps the airway from collapsing. It is a recognised alternative for snoring and for mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea, particularly for people who cannot tolerate CPAP.

It is worth considering if you:

  • Snore loudly enough to disturb the room
  • Have been diagnosed with mild or moderate sleep apnea
  • Have tried CPAP and genuinely cannot get on with it
  • Travel often and want something that fits in a pocket

What we do not do — and why that matters

We do not diagnose sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a medical condition, and diagnosing it takes a sleep study read by a physician — not a dental exam. If you have never been tested and you suspect it, the right first step is your doctor, and we are glad to point you that way.

What Dr. Singh does is the appliance side: once you have a diagnosis and your physician agrees an oral appliance is appropriate, we scan, design and fit it, then adjust it over the following weeks until it is both effective and comfortable to sleep in.

Severe sleep apnea is not treated with an oral appliance alone. If that is what your sleep study shows, we will tell you so plainly rather than sell you a device that will not do the job.

How it works, start to finish

  1. A conversation and an exam. We look at the wear on your teeth, your bite, your jaw joints and your airway, and ask how you actually sleep. For suspected apnea, this is also where we make sure a diagnosis is in place.
  2. A digital scan — no impression trays. Our Planmeca Emerald S scanner captures your teeth in a few minutes. Nothing to gag on, nothing to hold still while it sets.
  3. Your appliance is made to fit only you. Guards and sleep appliances are built to your scan, so they seat properly instead of shifting around at night the way a boil-and-bite from a pharmacy does.
  4. Fitting and adjustment. You come back to have it seated and checked. Sleep appliances in particular are adjusted gradually — the jaw position is advanced a little at a time until snoring settles without leaving you sore in the morning.
  5. Reviewed at your regular checkups. We look at the appliance and at how your teeth and bite are responding, and adjust or replace it as needed.

Worth asking about at your next visit

If you wake with a sore jaw, or someone has told you that you snore, mention it — it takes two minutes to look and it is a far easier problem to deal with early than after a cracked molar.

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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Night Guards & Sleep Appliances FAQ

A night guard protects your teeth from grinding and clenching — it is a cushion that takes the force instead of your enamel. A sleep apnea appliance does something different: it holds your lower jaw slightly forward so your airway stays open while you sleep. One protects teeth, the other protects breathing. If you are not sure which you need, that is exactly what the exam is for.

No. Sleep apnea is a medical diagnosis and it requires a sleep study interpreted by a physician. What we provide is the oral appliance, once you have that diagnosis and your physician agrees an appliance is appropriate for you. If you have never been tested and you suspect sleep apnea, start with your doctor — and we are happy to point you in the right direction.

Sometimes, for mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea, and it is often the answer for people who genuinely cannot tolerate CPAP. For severe sleep apnea an oral appliance alone is generally not enough. That decision belongs with your physician and your sleep study results, not with us alone — but we will give you a straight answer about what an appliance can and cannot do in your case.

A boil-and-bite guard is better than nothing for occasional grinding, but it is bulky, it moves at night, and because it does not fit your bite precisely it can actually change how your teeth come together over time. A custom guard is made from a digital scan of your teeth, seats securely, is thinner and more comfortable to sleep in, and lasts considerably longer.

Night guards are often covered at least in part by dental insurance. Sleep apnea appliances are more commonly billed to medical rather than dental insurance, which works differently. We are in-network with Delta Dental and we file claims for all other plans as an out-of-network provider, and we will check your benefits and give you a written estimate before anything is made.

No, we do not currently make custom athletic mouthguards. We focus on night guards for grinding and appliances for snoring and sleep apnea. If you need a sports guard for a child or teen, mention it at a visit and we will point you somewhere that makes them.

It depends heavily on how hard you grind. A custom guard commonly lasts several years, and heavy grinders may wear one through faster — which is itself useful information, because the guard is absorbing damage your teeth would otherwise be taking. We check the condition of it at your regular checkups.

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