Keeping your teeth in good health can be quite a commitment, especially if you’ve had work done on them or are a teeth grinder. If you’ve had braces or Invisalign to shift your teeth into the perfect position, you’ll need to wear a retainer for the rest of your life to prevent shifting. Dealing with stress and anxiety can lead to teeth grinding while you sleep and can cause massive damage to your teeth. You’ll need to wear a night guard to protect yourself. But what if you need both? What’s the best TMJ retainer?
Let’s first discuss each dental product and what they are designed and crafted for. Retainers are first provided by your dentist after you’ve completed your dental work with braces or aligners. Your teeth will be shifted into a perfect smile that will boost your confidence through that process but they won’t stay in that position afterward unprotected. You’ll need to wear a retainer for the rest of your life to trick your teeth into staying in their new placement. So a retainer is designed to prevent teeth from shifting back but is there a TMJ retainer that protects from grinding?
TMJ is a serious condition that can affect adults dealing with stress and anxiety. If you’ve been dealing with extra stress from work, school, relationships, finances, or just everyday life, you may be at risk of grinding your teeth at night while you sleep. When your body is stressed out it will need to find ways to subconsciously release it. One of these ways is for the body to grind your teeth or clench your jaw during your sleep which leads to morning headaches, damaged teeth, and sore jaw joints. The best way to prevent these side effects is to wear a night guard. Is there a dental device that like a TMJ retainer that can help with both issues?
While there is not a TMJ retainer, there are two devices that can help as well as some suggestions that may help you deal with both of these issues. One of the toughest retainers are the essix plus retainers which are made from premium crystal-clear essix material. This material is more resistant to the yellow and white spots that grow on clear retainers over time due to bacteria, but essix plus material also is more durable. If you have a light grinding or clenching habit, essix plus retainers may act as a TMJ retainer giving you a small amount of protection against the potential damage of teeth grinding and clenching. It’s important to note, essix plus retainers are designed to prevent your teeth from shifting but because of their material, they can protect against light grinding or clenching, but anything more than that, you won’t be protected from.
If you grind your teeth or clench your jaw at a more severe level, you’ll want a proper night guard. The Flexible Super Hard is the No. 1 premium night guard that gives maximum defense against grinding and clenching. This custom-made night guard is designed to fit only your smile and because it’s custom, it fits snuggly on your teeth. While it won’t give you the protection against teeth shifting as a retainer does, it will prevent major movement if worn every night but you still may be susceptible to micro-movements. This is best used to combat severe TMJ but there is no true TMJ retainer that functions as both a retainer and guard.
Here’s one solution that can help you if you are dealing with both TMJ and are worried about your teeth shifting back. Your teeth are always at risk of moving, not just at night when you sleep. The more you wear a retainer, the better they are “tricked” into thinking they are in the correct place. You can wear a retainer during the day (taking it out while you eat) as it is relatively invisible being crafted from crystal clear material. If you wear your retainer during the day, that’s a great way to prevent teeth from shifting. Most TMJ and teeth grinding occur while you sleep. Wearing a night guard while you sleep for protection will keep your teeth protected from TMJ. Wearing a retainer during the day, and a guard at night will give you the best of both worlds and prevent teeth shifting and TMJ. That’s truly the best TMJ retainer.
If you need either retainers or a night guard, SportingSmiles offers both. By ordering any product, you’ll receive our patented impression kit that will allow you to create easy impressions at home before shipping them off to our lab. Our products are the exact premium quality but at half the cost of the dentist.
