Your new night guard should be comfortable and make your head, neck, and jaw less stressed as you continue to wear it. If it does not meet these goals, please call the office to make an appointment to have it adjusted.
A traditional night guard is used primarily while you sleep, but it can also be used any time you notice yourself doing a lot of clenching or grinding such as while driving or concentrating hard on a work task. Some of our patients even wear them when they go skiing or when they exercise.
An EMA guard is only used while you sleep because it helps to pull the jaw forward to allow you to breathe better while laying down. Since it pulls the jaw forward, it is not ideal to wear this during other times of the day because we want your jaw to be able to return to its normal resting position.
Regardless of what kind of night guard you have, it is a good idea to write your name and phone number on the case so it can easily find its way back to you should you accidentally leave it in a hotel or locker room.
Below you will find links to each kind of night guard that go over frequently asked questions and also how to properly care for them.