T.m.j and night guards are essential dental prosthetics for those of us who have the habit of grinding our teeth at night.
Most of the people who get them, often complaint to their dental care providers about their difficulties adjusting to them. Most of the patients after getting their t.m.j and night guards, when they visit their dental care providers, claim they just kept their night guards over their dressers, or in drawers, where they are eating up dust because they failed to adjust to them. No matter how much money they spent on their t.m.j and night guards, they cannot benefit out of them.
Getting used to the t.m.j and night guards might be a bit difficult initially, but through proper guidance, you can achieve the goals. Most of the patients complain about the following things regarding their t.m.j and night guards- either the t.m.j and night guards are too tight and uncomfortable, or they make them gag. In some cases, the patients even start drooling a lot and in a lot of cases they involuntarily, out of habit, take the night guards out.
❖People who complain that the t.m.j and night guards are too tight feel that their new dental prosthetics might move their teeth around. However, it doesn’t happen like this. The tightness of the night guards is a sign that they are working just fine, that they fit your teeth well and are going to stay in place, and will work for what they are made for. The tightness must be just right, though. It must not be too severe for your mouth or uncomfortable. This way you would need to get your nightguards adjusted again for your dental aesthetics.
❖Feeling that your nightguards are uncomfortable is initially okay. You will get used to them in a couple of days. Obviously sticking a piece of plastic at night into your mouth is difficult and unnatural and therefore a little bit of adjustment period (which can be 2-3 weeks) is necessary.
❖People complaining about gag reflex when they wear their t.m.j and night guards is mostly mental. Gag reflexes are something that can be overcome by manipulating your brain. You need to calm down, take deep breaths, and relax. You will overcome the gag reflex in about a week.
❖Yes, in the initial days you can wake up to a pillow that is soaked with drool, which is not exactly an attractive sight. But you do not have to give up on your t.m.j and night guards just yet. You need to know that this drooling is temporary. The drooling is just a way your brain is reacting to a foreign object in your mouth, by producing some excess amounts of saliva. But if you don’t give up and let not just your body, but also your brain adjust to the idea of a night guard every night, you will get through it.
If you are the one who finds their nightguards beside the bed, on the dresser, when you wake up in the morning, then apparently you know the solution for this as well already. You need to give yourself, your body, and your brain some time to adjust to the foreign object going into your mouth at night. It can take a couple of days or even week, but eventually, you will get used to them.
