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Most custom-made nightguards range from $300-500. When taken into perspective, it is not a bad way to spend your dental dollars considering I have seen people destroy their own teeth from grinding and then are faced with a $50,000 full mouth reconstruction. Heck, even extractions and top of the line dentures can cost upwards of $3,000. A nightguard can be done by your dentist and generally takes two quick and painless visits. First visit is for impressions/molds, then the second is for the insertion and any needed adjustments in about two weeks when it comes back from the dental lab.
I am not a fan of the "boil and bite", el-cheapo guards that you buy at CVS or Walmart for many reasons, but first and foremost is that since they are a "one size fits all" type of appliance, they generally are not very comfortable and thus most people don't wear them. Second, they are made of a softer material which your mouth basically treats like chewing gum at night, therefore causing your TMJ and associated muscles to actually feel worse in the morning. Your mileage may vary, but I have never had a patient switch back to their CVS nightguard after getting a custom-made one.
The only time I recommend the "boil and bite" appliances are for athletic mouthguards for kids who still have some baby teeth left. Once all of their permanent teeth come in (usually age 12 or so) we get them into a custom-made athletic mouthguard.
I'm home with my new custom bite guard. I like it so much better than my old one! This one goes on top - the other one went on the bottom. It really fits comfortably yet snuggly whereas the old one was always quite loose, as in I could remove the old one with my tongue. The new one requires two fingers, one on each side.
The dentist explained to me that the bottom ones should only be used on people with underbites, not a slight overbite as I have. People like me, then, should have the top one. Who knew? Obviously not my previous dentist. Hopefully this new one will be more successful than the old relic.
I broke my $600 nightgard (from the dentist) and ended up using nothing. For months. Now I have TMJ, a misaligned bite, ear pain, buzzing in my head and some headaches. My new dentist put me on cortisone for 6 days and is going to mold me a new nightgard, when my jaw relaxes some. Finally I have a dentist who knows what this is and what to do.
My insurance doesn't pay a dime. I have tried the cheap ones and they either don't fit or I take them out at night. The dentist says this type can make your problem worse. I can't wait to get my new one !
I had an expensive hard guard from the dentist with a metal frame inside the hard clear plastic. It worked very well except for the fact that I often woke up to find it in very strange places. I would wake up with it in my hand, or on my pillow and once I opened my eyes to see it stuck on my H's forehead! I tried to get it off and it woke him up.
That aside, it was hard plastic and if you can crack teeth, you can crack plastic over time. The worst part was that I would find another piece of it gone in the morning and I have to assume I ate all those bits over the years since I never found any of them anywhere. It cost $375 at the time and I had no insurance.
When I had some basic insurance, it did cover a guard and I got a soft plastic one that covers so much and fits so well I've never known it to spend the night anywhere but in my mouth. I don't wake up with headaches anymore and my jaw joint doesn't click or any of the other weird TMJ things that happen. I think it was $175.
Now I have no insurance again and the soft plastic guy is aging and not always springtime fresh, so I have to soak it more often in water and a bit of mouthwash. It also has calcifications on it, which I used to get on my teeth, but as those parts of my teeth are covered all night now, I have a lot less of it.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Yes, they are great, and yes, $450 is a steal. Mine was $700, but the insurance paid half, only because I have a few implants. For just teeth grinding, they don't cover it.
I have a bite guard that was custom made a few years ago because of my bruxism (night teeth grinding). I got really lax about wearing it then it just sat on the shelf in the bathroom. Mine cost $130 at college dental school.
Coincidentally last week I had a dental check-up and cleaning. Everything was okay, but in addition to a lecture about better, more consistent flossing I was told I should be wearing my bite guard.
So, I'm trying to get back into the habit. I've put a lot of money into my teeth (orthodonture and lots of crowns). I want to take care of them and I never want to have to wear dentures.
Thanks! Their most expensive model is $189, a far cry from the $450+ my dentist wants! This place also offers free, unlimited adjustments, so....I think I will go for it! Wouldn't it be funny if my dentist sent his molds to the same lab?
Even if my insurance would pay something towards a bite guard, as long as its through the dentist, I still have a yearly maximum and I think I will meet it this year anyways!
I found a bite guard that works! Its from DenTek. It cost $29.95 at WalMart. I figured I might as well give it a try before I invest a lot of money in a custom-made one. I got the Professional-Fit Maximum Protection Dental Guard.
I woke up this morning, looking around the bedsheets for the mouthguard, from force of habit. I never was able to tolerate the bite guards and would take them out in my sleep. Then, I realized, it was still in my mouth! I went the distance! I found it very comfortable and was able to sleep through the night with it in place!
I also noticed--no headache! I've been so used to waking up with facial pain and headaches I just anticipate it. It has been a part of my wake-up routine for years. First thing I would do is take two Tylenol, two sudaphed, and two cups of coffee, just to get started. Well, nothing will make me give up my coffee! but seems I don't need the Tylenol! I am so pleased, I think I will buy another one just to have as a backup.
Now I just need to solve the sinus drainage problem. That might be a result of the irritation caused by the grinding, so wait and see!
Mine is also a top fitting guard. Previous ones were on the bottom teeth. I do think top fitted work better.
Last edited by MaryleeII; 07-25-2017 at 01:24 PM..
That's great news! Even though I did go the custom route, I'm having the same results. What a difference! And if I do start my clenching cross-biting thing when I'm concentrating on something during the day, I just pop the bite guard in and the pain stops immediately. I can take it back out after a few minutes and carry on. It sort of resets everything and off I go.
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Found something that works!
I found it very comfortable and was able to sleep through the night with it in place! 
