You protect your teeth with regular cleanings and checkups; avoiding acidic, sticky, and sugary foods; and using fluoride to remineralize. Good for you! Here are a couple of other outstanding ways you can protect your teeth – with custom-made mouthguards from Dental Designs by Alisa Reed. We offer both sports guards and bruxism guards for children and adults to keep teeth safe day and night no matter how active you are or how much you clench and grind at night.

Sports mouthguards are not all the same. The boil-and-bite guards you can get at the sporting-goods store simply won’t protect your teeth the way dentist-made guards do – and they certainly won’t help prevent concussions and other damage as effectively. In fact, over-the-counter mouthguards can be dangerous! According to a recent study conducted by the Academy of General Dentistry. “High school football players wearing store-bought, over-the-counter (OTC) mouthguards were more than twice as likely to suffer mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI)/concussions than those wearing custom-made, properly fitted mouthguards.”

Bruxism guards are another important tooth-protector people may not ever consider – especially because most people don’t realize that they clench and grind their teeth! We know how to recognize the signs and symptoms, so if we notice cracks and crazing in your enamel, unusual wearing down of teeth, pain in your jaw muscles, cracking in your jaw, or other symptoms, we will recommend a custom-made guard to help protect your teeth and stop the wear and damage bruxism causes. Interestingly, bruxism guards have found new therapeutic uses helping with TMJ pain and even Tourette’s syndrome!